


Traumatizing Emma: One-shots

by TraumatizingEmma



Series: Traumatizing Emma [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Fun, Multi, Occasional angst, Polyamory, random oneshots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-07 15:04:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 54
Words: 92,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4267794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TraumatizingEmma/pseuds/TraumatizingEmma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Red Snowing works from my Tumblr</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU: No curse.
> 
> This was my first fic ever in OUAT, please don't judge the bad writing too harshly!

There was no curse, whatever it was she’d done, Regina had disappeared, they were not sure where to, but she was never gone for long.  
  
The night Emma decided to be born was nothing but complete chaos She’s early, two weeks early, and King George’s men were storming the castle, looking for their little girl.  
It was all Charming can do to get her down to the nursery, fighting off George’s men the entire way. By time he gets near safety he was bleeding, worse for wear but alive. What mattered was Emma who was howling in discontent, but healthy in his arms.

“What’s happened?” Red gasped, out of breath from battling her way through to find her loves and make it to where she could hear their infant crying.

“King George wants Emma.” Charming told her quickly,”You need to take Emma and run. Get her out of here.”  
  
Red took Emma from Charming as prompted, shifting the blanket tighter and trying not to worry overly at the blood flowing from Charming’s chest where it appeared he’d been slashed by a sword across his left shoulder, “What happened?” She repeated worriedly.

“His guards…” Charming shifted his grip on his sword and glanced the  
way he’d come from where he could hear more soldiers moving. “Just run, please? Once everything’s safe we’ll find you. I’d send Snow but…” he glanced backwards toward their room again, “Run and don’t stop till we come for you.”

Red nodded and leaned forward to kiss Charming, “Take care of yourself and Snow.”

“Take care of our daughter.” he countered, leaning down and kissing Emma on the head.

* * *

 

  
She ran, through the corridors, down stairs and out the back, slipping past the guards and didn’t even bother stopping for a horse or supplies. They’d be looking for people on horseback, but not on foot. Red hadn’t gotten them very far outside when night set in completely, no moon to light the way which meant Red had to rely on her wolf sight to move through the forest without hurting either of them.  
Emma cried loud in protest, both at the night air and the movement, only settling when Red gave up and stuck her index finger in Emma’s mouth to calm her.  
  
It was much too cold, much too dark and eventually Red found herself unable to run any further, at least not as a human. Emma was shivering inside her blanket but she’d finally stopped crying by time Red found them shelter under a tree. “Hold on, Pup, I’ve got you.” Red promised, stripping off her cloak and carefully wrapping it around Emma and over her blanket that Granny had knit until she was snug and secure, the hood of the cloak just covering her face, creating a little dome when Red moved it.

Eventually the night air started getting to Red as well without her cloak on. She gave into temptation and shifted forms, padding around the ground and carefully arranging herself to curl around the little bundle. It would be easier to spot predators while in wolf form, to hear them, and easier to protect.

She curled up, resting her head on the bundle where Emma was, listening to the baby’s heartbeat.

 

* * *

  
Red managed short periods of sleep throughout the night, waking often either from random sounds of the forest or from noises from her pup…their baby.

Such an amazing day, an amazing thing, spoiled by a horrible man who wants nothing so much as to hurt their family.

When daylight finally really reached her and she couldn’t pretend any longer it was just the pre-dawn light Red shifted back, unwrapping Emma from her own cloak and flipping it inside out before putting it on, hoping that maybe it might disguise the oh so familiar colour that everyone knows.  
She tucked Emma close to her chest, wrapping the cloak over her arm and set off walking again. She had to keep moving, just in case.

It wasn’t long before Red stumbled across a farm. A farm might have been overstating the place, it was tiny and looked to house maybe two or three people.

 Red figured she should feel bad for stealing some linens they had outside on a line, but Emma was cold and wet and unhappy, so she pushed aside her guilt. Emma needed it, Emma was her main priority. She could always locate the farm again later and apologize, maybe pay them for what she’d taken. 

 She kept moving once she’d got Emma dry once more and fashioned into a makeshift nappy. Until they came for her she couldn’t risk staying still in one location.  
By time she stopped again it was nightfall, dark was always both scary and protecting. 

Things couldn’t find you in the dark.

You couldn’t tell what was in the dark.

Red thought about continuing, about keeping her pace and moving onwards, but she was too tired to do anything more. Emma had cried herself out once again, desperately hungry and it broke Red’s heart. She might have been one of the girl’s mothers but she wasn’t exactly equipped to feed her.

"It’s okay, Pup." Red tried to sooth her even as she wrapped her once again up in the cloak and set her on the forest floor, shifting forms. She closed her eyes, wishing for Charming and Snow, though she knew it was unlikely Snow could come for them, and curled up around Emma. Maybe in the next town she came across, the next morning when she started again, she’d be able to find something for Emma, even if it was only goats milk.

She sighed heavily, listening to Emma snuffle and rested her head, wishing for the blissful release of sleep.

She’d barely gotten her eyes closed and had started to drift off when there was a rustle nearby accompanied by a scent that wasn’t there before. That should be impossible, she could always smell people or animals when they started moving in her direction; they couldn’t appear out of no where. Red sprung to her feet, fur on end and fangs bared as she stood over the bundle that contained Emma protectively. She was expecting something, some big predator, some soldier, even perhaps some random person with the unfortunately luck to have stumbled across them. She wasn’t expecting to be thrown backwards by an invisible force, tumbling over the ground till she was trapped pressed against it, unable to move, unable to stand, unable even to shit back to human.

She growled and fought against it, trying her hardest to move even an inch but there was nothing she could do when the scent finally sunk in and cued her memory moments before Regina strolled across the forest floor as regal as if it were a ballroom and stood above the bundle, looking down at it with something like curiosity or disapproval on her face.

"And here I thought it was Snow who had the infant." Regina mused, looking up at the night sky in search of the moon then down to Red. "I’m assuming it’s not yours; I doubt Charming would produce an infant with a mutt."

Red growled in reply, fighting hard against whatever magic held her but managing nothing more than hurting herself.

Regina ignored her and reached down, flipping the hood back to expose Emma’s face. After a moment she unwrapped the cloak and easily lifted Emma in her arms, examining the blanket. “Emma?” Regina read the stitching out loud. She traced her finger down Emma’s cheek lightly and frowned at how quickly Emma turned her head to try and catch her finger. “Of course, they send out an idiot without experience or ways to care for a baby to hide it,” Regina sighed in annoyance, shifting Emma to one arm so she could point her right hand at Red, “If I let you up you will behave and change back.”

It wasn’t a request and even if it were Red didn’t think she’d be able to disobey it. As soon as the force on her lessened allowing her to sit up she shifted back to human, sitting on the dirt with all her muscles aching. “Give me Emma,” Red demanded, trying to sound less fearful than she felt.

"Maybe." Regina nudged the cloak with her foot and with a wave of her hand she sent it flying to Red. "Tell me, why should I give her to you?"

"She’s mine." Red said fiercely, "She’s ours. Our daughter."

"Not by blood," Regina made a hushing noise, rocking Emma softly to silence her crying before she addressed Red again, "I have more claim to her than you do."

"What do you want?" Red pleaded, "What do you want from me? For her."

"I want nothing from you." Regina shifted the whining baby again with a frown, "How long since someone has fed her?"

"Never," Red pulled her cloak on shakily, her hands trembling from fear and exhaustion as she tried to tie it around her shoulders. "She was born as the battle began."

The noise Regina made in response couldn’t be human. The closest thing Red had to associate it to was the shriek a hawk made before diving for prey. “What?” Regina demanded tersely through gritted teeth.

"She was still wet when I was given her and told to run." Red couldn’t find a reason to lie.

If anything that seemed to make Regina madder and even with her unique hearing Red couldn’t quite make out what she was now muttering to herself.

After a few moments Regina looked up from Emma to Red, more composed, “I never liked King George, nor the real James, though they made acceptable allies against common enemies.”

"What do you mean, ‘the Real James’?" Red asked worriedly, hoping against hope that Regina wasn’t one of the few that knew the truth behind Charming.

"Oh, Charming can pretend all he wants," Regina smirked, "But I knew the real Prince James briefly. He was an arrogant ass, a supposed ladies man who would sleep with any female willing to part her legs for him.” She paused and smirked again, eying Red, “Though I suppose that last bit isn’t too far off.”

Red couldn’t help the growl that made it’s way out, “Give me Emma.” she tried again, this order less shaky as it was fueled with anger this time.

"And lose my bargaining chip?" Regina laughed, "I have a deal riding on this. I’m hardly going to lose what I need for my end."

"What deal?" Red licked her lips, fighting back fear, "I might be able to help. I can speak on Charming and Snow’s behalf." She said desperately, knowing they trusted her that much.

"They really trust you to speak for them?" Regina looked amused, "It’s a very large deal, all hinging on one piece falling into place."

"What piece? Just tell me what you need!" Red kept her eyes on Regina’s, trying not to betray fear or anxiety over Emma’s condition.

"I need them to release Rumpelstiltskin." Regina smiled, making Red shiver.  
  
“Why? Why do you want that monster released?” Red demanded, trying to stand but unable to move any further against whatever magic it was that was still holding her in it’s grip.

“Well, putting it simply for your sake, he has something I want that he’ll give me if I give him what he wants.” Regina told her, once again rocking lightly in place to sooth Emma, absently allowing the baby to suck on one of her fingers and Red had to fight off another growl, the desire to show off fangs she didn’t have at the moment.

“What does he want?” Red asked, eyes drifting to Emma and then back to Regina.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Regina brushed off the idea she knew Red had forming without a second of thought, “He could care less about having Emma in his control, the same for the other soon to be born Princess of dear ‘Ella’, he just wants…well, it’s a long story.” Regina’s smile made Red fight hard against the impulse to change,”It’s a game much like blackmail, filled with cheaters and misinformation,” Regina smiled down at Emma who had finally calmed completely and Red found it filled her with rage, “Whoever holds more sway, or in this case information, wins.”

“What do you have that he wants?”

“His true love.”

“Why do you…” Red thought better of asking the question, “Please, I’ll tell them, I’ll bargain for you, just please give me Emma.” Red pleaded again, desperate to save their child.

“Oh, you can have her back, she’s not the insurance I want, not anymore. They can always have another infant, you however…” Regina’s smile as she moved closer to her scared her to the bone.

 

* * *

 

  
They’d spent hours searching and still they had no luck. Despite the searing pain in his shoulder, Charming pressed on. They’d managed to subdue King George’s ‘army’ by dawn, any left standing had been locked away down in the dungeons but finding Red and Emma proved harder. He’d set out with what members of their army they could afford to have leave the castle along with anyone willing to help the moment he knew Snow was safe. He’d left with a large bandage covering his shoulder to protect the wound Doc had stitched together for him. Snow wanted desperately to help, but couldn’t leave, not while she was recovering.  
It was about to dawn the second morning since he’d sent them running and it was worrying. Emma had to be starving by now, Red tired and cold in this weather and it made his heart ache to think about it.

  
“RED!” Charming yelled out, over the sound of the hoof beats of his horse and that of the knight following him. She can hear for miles off, he knows, even further off if she’s shifted which she might have to save Emma. “RED!”

He received no answer, just as it had been for hours but then…A wailing noise came through the trees, echoing in the stillness of the pre-dawn. An infants shrieks, obviously from an extremely unhappy baby.

“Emma.” he gasped out, slowing his horse to a stop and leaping off, running through the trees towards the noise, ignoring the pain that hits his chest with each footfall. He feared the worst; why would he hear Emma if Red wouldn’t respond? Why would they be unsheltered? 

He burst through the underbrush and immediately relief filled him. Red was sitting under a tree, legs drawn up underneath her and Emma bundled in her blanket in Red’s arms.

“Red! Emma.” he nearly fell at Red’s side, reaching out with one hand to touch Emma’s head and the other to touch Red’s face, making sure they’re alive and real.

Red didn’t respond, she just sat there, arms tight around Emma and staring into the distance unblinkingly.

“Red? Hey, Red?” He tried to get her attention, but she just stared at something he couldn’t see. ”Sweetheart?”

“Your majesty?” the knight had obviously found his way to them finally. “Would you like me to sound an alarm?”

“Send word back that we’ve found them.” Charming ordered him, shifting to take Emma from Red and help his love to her feet. He cursed his injured shoulder that prevented him from lifting both of them with ease. “We’ll be home by dawn.” He wrapped his right arm around Red’s waist but she still didn’t speak, didn’t do anything at all but follow when he lead her to walk back to the horses and the fear started to build again in his gut.

 

* * *

  
When they were nearly to the gates he sent the knight with them ahead to alert them to their return and to have them send what he wants up to their rooms. Doc and the others were still dealing with the injured or the dead, still setting the castle right and neither of his girls looked like they needed any actual medical help.  
  
Food and baths to rid them of the dirt and mess of the forest, definitely, but nothing medically seems wrong beyond scratches and scrapes on Red that looked like they could have just come from running through the forest.  
  
He had Emma cradled in his left arm, using his right to support and lead Red when he finally made it back to their rooms.

Snow was still laying back on the bed as per Doc’s orders, eyes red from crying and she looked almost like she might burst into tears as she straightened, pulling herself to sit up slightly against the headboard, reaching out towards them, “Emma?”

"Safe." Charming said, shifting to lay the baby in his wife’s arms and sit down on the edge of the bed with Red. His aching body was given some relief, now that his arm was freed, "They’re both safe." He repeated, moving to wrap both arms around Red, trying to bring her back.  
She hadn’t spoken a word the entire trip home. Hadn’t spoken a word since he’d found her.

"Safe," Snow nearly laughed with relief, tears slipping from her eyes as she pressed a kiss to Emma’s head before leaning over to pull Red into a hug and kissing her as well, "Safe."

* * *

  
While Snow rested on the bed, nursing Emma who acted like — rightly so - she’d never had food before, Charming set about helping Red.

She wasn’t…right. Red cooperated, followed orders but something was wrong. It could be from pure exhaustion, Charming reasoned, or shock but what could send her into shock? What could have happened in the forest to set her this way is a thought that terrified him to no end.

 He quickly got her stripped out of her dirty clothes and into the hot bath that had been brought up. Getting her bathed didn’t take long at all and by time he had her out of the bath, dry and in clean clothes with her hair braided back for simplicity, Emma had finished nursing. Snow held her curled up against her chest in her arms, fast asleep.

"Come, sit down." Charming said, leading Red by her hands to sit on the side of the bed, ignoring the throbbing that came from his shoulder, echoing outwards across his chest and down his left arm. He was pretty sure he’d torn at least one stitch, but that was something Doc could fix later once he was certain his family was okay. "Red, you need to eat something." he brushed a stray strand of hair he’d missed when braiding her hair away from her eyes and even Snow looked worried when she didn’t respond. They exchanged a look and Charming brushed Red’s face with his hand again, "I’ll get the tray." he said, stepping away.

"Red?" Snow said softly, reaching out with her right hand and entwining her fingers with Red’s, "Sweetheart, are you okay?" She hadn’t seen Red this bad, in shock like this, since…Peter.

Red didn’t respond at all, eyes unfocused and directed down at her lap.

She obediently sat still, letting Charming feed her the soup they’d sent up and when prompted she lay down between the two of them to sleep. But she curls in on herself, almost like an infant, one hand tangled in Charming’s shirt, instead of around one of them line normal. With Charming against her front and Snow and Emma behind her she finally fell asleep.

* * *

When Red awoke it was dark outside. Charming was no longer asleep in front of her but Snow was still curled up against her back. Emma was gone as well, Red noticed with a glance, probably with Charming wherever he’d gone.

Despite the warmth of the covers, despite the presence of her wife in bed with her all she feels is…cold.

She sat up, moving to sit at the edge of the bed and placed her feet on the cold stone floor. The clothes she’d been dressed in weren’t hers, she realized, instead she was in one of Snow’s nightshirts. Probably intentional, more than likely intentional; a showing that they were both there for her. It should have made her happy, but…

She rose to her feet, feeling but not really paying much attention to how cold the floor was on her feet, desperate to find something that could prove what she thinks, to show that what she remembered wasn’t a dream, but even without doing anything, even when she was sitting still she’d known.

Red had the dagger in her hand before she even thought about grabbing it from their little stash by the door. Without thought, she unsheathed it and pressed the tip lightly against her forearm, steeling herself for what she needs to do.

"RED!"

She jolted, dropping the dagger at Snow’s yell, luckily doing no more damage than a small scratch - no worse than a cat could deal out - across her arm. She turned quickly, like a child caught in a bad act, putting her hands behind her back.

Snow winced, but climbed out of bed, hurrying as fast as she could to Red’s side. She kicked the dagger aside with her foot on it’s hilt and placed her hand on the side of Red’s face, “What are you doing?” Snow pleaded for an answer, eyes shining with fear and anger.

Normally that would make her feel guilty, make her feel horrible. “Trying to feel,” Red replied honestly.

"What? Red, what happened to you?" Snow asked, clearly trying not to cry though a few tears did slip out, trailing down her cheeks.

"I can’t feel anything." Red said dully, even as Snow tugged her into a hug.

"You’re in shock." Snow told her, pulling her back across the room to sit on the bed. She sat sideways with one foot on the floor so she could keep her hold on Red.

"No. It’s gone." Red told her, something akin to panic rising.

"Wh-What’s gone?"

Red didn’t say a word, instead choosing to reach down and take Snow’s left hand, placing it dead centre on her chest and pressing down to make sure Snow’s hand was fully connected. She watched as Snow paled and began to crying, wishing she could do something.

* * *

-Before-

* * *

  
Pain screamed through her body. She’d never felt anything like this before, not even when she was first learning how to shift and remembered the changes.  
It was like something was burning inside her, spreading out and trying to turn all of her into nothing but embers. She wished with everything that it would stop.  
Red was pretty sure she was screaming, but she couldn’t hear anything at all.

Then as suddenly as it had begun it was gone leaving nothing in it’s place.

No warmth, no cold, just…nothing.

With dead eyes, Red looked up to see Regina looking quite pleased, almost like the cat who caught the canary. She held Red’s heart in her right hand, Emma resting in her left arm.

There’s something almost ironic about it. She holds Red’s literal heart in her hands as well as Emma who might as well be all their hearts. She reached out without even thinking when Regina moved to hand Emma over, not even protesting when Regina tutted and arranged her hands to better support Emma. 

"You’ll get this back when he’s released." Regina told her before disappearing into smoke, like she’d never even been there at all  
  


* * *

  
\- Now-

* * *

  
There were people moving all around her and speaking. She felt Charming’s hand on her chest at one point so he could feel for himself the truth before more voices started up.  
She tried to ignore them all, wishing for sleep which is preferable to this, but then Granny was there, arms wrapped around her and Red gave in, clinging desperately to Granny and crying.

"We’ll…We’ll find out what he wants." She heard Charming declare, even as Granny rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her. "We’ll do what we have to do."

"I’m going to kill her." Snow threatened harshly and Red believed her.

“‘What she wants’,” Granny spoke softly, gaining their attention without raising her voice, “has frequently meant your deaths , or threats against your child. Are you willing to risk that?”

There was quiet for a few moments then Charming spoke, “Yes. I will trade my life for hers.”

"What? No! We’ll find some other way."

"She doesn’t want us, or Emma." Red said, pulling away from Granny, despite the wish that she could remain hidden against her like when she was little and Granny would hold her to ‘hide’ from the storms that had terrified her. 

The shock was finally starting to wear off. Everything was dull, like she was viewing the world from underwater, but at least she could concentrate now, “She had that chance.”

"What?" Charming crossed to the bed, crouching down at the side of it and taking Red’s hands in his. "What do you mean?""

Red pulled her left hand away from his grasp and reached to her left side to rest it on Emma’s side where the baby lay curled against Snow’s chest, either asleep or too content to move. “She had her chance to take Emma. To kill me and not just…I was…There was a noise and then I was down and I couldn’t move. I tried so hard but I couldn’t move at all,” Red stressed, hoping desperately they wouldn’t think it was her fault, “Regina, she came and she picked up Emma and …She quieted her. She got Emma to stop crying and fussing she…looked calm.” Red noted still puzzled by that. “She wants something else. My heart is just ‘insurance’ to make sure you do what she wants. She doesn’t want it, not really.”

Charming nodded and looked at Snow then back to Red, “What does she want, Red?”

“Rumpelstiltskin released.” 

* * *

  
It was a fight, but in the end it was up to Snow and Charming whether or not Rumpelstiltskin gets released, no one else. Ella’s unable to leave and help due to the birth of her daughter just days before and Thomas is still missing so neither can protest.  
  
Their only qualm about it was how would they get Red’s heart back through the deal.

Red lay on the bed on her side, Emma curled up against her as she played with the baby quietly. Fingers moving just out of reach of tiny hands trying to grab them. It was not long before Red let Emma ‘win’ the game and let the baby chew on her hand.

Granny was going to have her as long as they were gone; Snow was refusing to stay behind and trusting their two week old in Granny’s care along with a few others stationed for protection.

“Ready?” Charming asked, standing next to the bed. He looked calm, strong, but she knew inside hew was scared.

“Not really.” Red replied, sitting up and taking her hand back from Emma who yawned. “No crying.” Red said, lifting Emma into her arms and patting her back. Emma’s little hands tangled in her hair and she quickly reached up to untangle them. “You get to spend time with Granny. She’d been fed, changed and would be falling to sleep any time and Red desperately wished she could feel anything for their baby beyond curiosity.

She cuddled Emma close anyway, inhaling her scent as if trying to memorize it, just in case.

* * *

  
He was out. They kept him chained and he can’t can’t do anything, but he’s still out and everyone was petrified. They caged a beast and now they were to let him go.

“Where do we go?” Snow asked, voice strong as her fingers sought out Red’s. 

“The woods.” the words came unbidden from Red’s lips, something that’s very weird, and she knew they aren’t hers. 

Rumpelstiltskin was practically giggling with glee the entire trip out and as they walked the path to the woods, following Red who couldn’t seem to stop moving or choose where she was going. 

“Why can’t I see what happens to you?” Rumpelstiltskin asked Red, reminding her of an over curious puppy that couldn’t figure out some new creature. “The other Princess was born and I’m standing by my convictions there; so this can’t be a bargain for her. What is your role in this?”

“Oh, leave the Princesses alone.” 

They jolted, looking up at the sudden new voice and saw Regina standing very calmly where she wasn’t just a few seconds ago. Charming’s hand went automatically to his sword, but Snow’s hand on his stopped him from drawing it.

“Anyone would think you have an agenda.” Regina raised an eyebrow, “Like a collector.”

“Collecting favours and debts, not lives.” Rumpelstiltskin countered.

“Trade you.” Regina said coyly.

“Whatever with? Our bargains were fulfilled. You didn’t go through with what I gave you.” Rumpelstiltskin said with clear disappointment, “Why should I strike another deal?”

“Because I have things you want.”

“Like?”

“A beautiful Princess, knowledge of where to find a certain fiery boy, power to help you find him and what you need to bring him back. For a price.” Regina smiled almost sweetly, “But first, let’s have a show of faith so maybe neither of us will get stabbed tonight. A Princess for a Princess.”

“Which for which?” He asked, giggling at the words.

“If you’ll return them Prince Thomas and leave his child alone, I’ll give you back Belle.”

His eyes went dark, his expression changes. “She’s alive?”

“Yes. Will you agree to that as a first deal?”

“Done.” He said greedily, not bothering to question her motives.

“Make your deals on your own time.” Charming snapped, hand tight on his sword, “Give Red back her heart.

Regina looked at them and Red nearly fell over as she started moving forward without meaning to, stumbling ahead till she landed at Regina’s feet on her knees. “You think I’d do that here?” She reached down and grabbed Red’s arm hard, “Undo his chains.”

The guard moved to do as told and before Charming could stop him, they’re off.

“I trust you can follow?” Regina asked Rumpelstiltskin evenly.

“Of course.”

As she disappeared in a puff of smoke, taking Red with her, Rumpelstiltskin had just enough time to hear the anguished scream from Snow and the roar from Charming before he follows her.

* * *

  
It was disconcerting, knowing you should panic, knowing you should be screaming in fear, but feeling nothing to alert your brain that needs to happen, Red thought as she tried to catch her breath and rid the weird feeling that came from being transported.

She found herself on a cold stone floor in a strange room she didn’t recognize. “You-you said you’d give it back.” Red said, standing on wobbly legs and fighting to regain her balance. “You said I’d get my heart back when he was released!”

"So I did." Regina turned and before Red could even blink there was pain blinding her, everything on fire once more and embers burning in her chest.

Pain beyond what she’d ever thought she could feel but…she could feel! Weeks worth of emotions all poured back in at once as she screamed and fell to the floor. The only good thing behind the pain and panic was that she could now feel her heart beating hard beneath her ribs, almost feeling as if it were trying to escape again.

"You’re free to make your way home." Regina waved her off as Rumpelstiltskin appeared, looking like a starving man sat before a feast. "We have things to do."

She tried to get to her feet again but found herself stumbling back to the floor hard every time till someone’s hands on her arm steadied her. “Here, let me help you.”  
She looked up to find a man with white hair and a slight smile dressed finely as any knight at her side. He kept his hand on her arm and lead her, much like Charming had before, out of the room and away from the two people she knew who could inspire the most fear in any soul.

"Whe-where are we?" Red asked, thankful of her cloak that kept her from turning out of sheer fear.

"My home. Our home," he said simply, "I believe it used to be called the ‘Summer Palace’."

"You’re one of them?" Red gasped out, trying to breathe normally and fighting the desperate and growing urge to change forms to deal with all the overwhelming emotion from the last two weeks. As a wolf everything was simpler and much more condense. She wouldn’t have to fight everything she’d missed emotion wise at once but she couldn’t change till she was safe and there was no way to be changed and carry her cloak with her right now.

"In a way, but not for long, "His smile was so bright it reminded her of Charming the day he found out Snow was pregnant. "Soon it’ll all be better. We’ll be happy again."  
He didn’t say much till they were outside and she was outside the gates of the castle, cloak pulled tight against the cool air. “I think you need to head North,” he advised her with a slight smile before he turned and left her standing at the gates all alone.

There was no way to call to her family, no way to look for help as it were so she ran as a human, hoping to find some way to change without losing her cloak, wanting desperately to be back home where everything would be alright, where they kept her safe.  
  
 It wasn’t until the third time she’d tripped, crying to hard to see straight that she gave in and sat on the forest floor. She dug into her clothes, tearing a strip from the bottom of her shirt and then another till they worked as ties. She kept her cloak on, fighting the urge until she had it mostly bundled and then dropped it, wrapping it up like a parcel in no time at all and changing into the wolf.  
Instantly everything is easier, simpler. No pressing emotions, no sheer panic, just the driving force and desire to get back home to her pack.

She grabbed the cloak by the cloth straps wrapped around it with her teeth and set off at a dead run in the direction she could smell was home.

She didn’t stop, not when the dark sky started to lighten, not when she could hear the morning creatures starting to move. She didn’t stop until she physically could not move anymore, couldn’t take another step without falling over in exhaustion. There was no doubt her heart was back, it felt like it might explode from her chest.

The smells were more familiar, she was closer to home now, at least halfway.

Maybe…She’d tested a theory before, one that Granny and her mother had mentioned; she could hear for miles in the forest on a clear calm day, further during wolfstime.  
There we’re people. If she focused just right she could hear them, not distinct, but people…maybe animals.

Could be her pack.

She dropped the wrapped cloak on the ground next to her, pulled herself into a sitting position the best she could and let out the loudest howl she could manage. If they we’re normal humans, they’d run away. If it was her pack, they’d run towards her.

Silence, complete still encompasses her and her surroundings, the prey having run and the humans freezing in their place.

She tried it again, just once more and then she’d rest.

Silence again then a faint, but distinct voice echoed towards her, “RED!”

He had to be miles away, but it was Charming and he was coming for her now.

She howled again and laid down, too worn out to do anything but change back, resting her head on her wrapped cloak and waiting.

* * *

  
Could be minutes, could be an hour later, she couldn’t really tell, when a shadow blocked the sunlight that had been heating her. 

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you, beautiful.”

She wrestled with sleep and forced her eyes open, looking up into Charming’s face. “Slow poke. I’m over halfway.” she murmured sleepily.

“Yes, well, you have fur and four paws to help.” he replied, kneeling at her side and brushing hair away from her face before leaning down to kiss her. His left hand moved and rests against her ribs and his face nearly split in a smile when he felt her heart beating steadily under his hand. “Let’s get you home.” He said, ignoring the pain in his still healing shoulder as he hooked one arm under her knees and the other under her arms, lifting her into his arms and off the forest floor.

“Home?” He was warm and smelled good and familiar and it was so hard not to fall asleep with his heart beating against her ear.

“Yes, home. Snow and Emma are waiting for us.” He assured her, adjusting his grip so he cold grab her cloak and set it on her stomach before standing again. “Think you’re up for a ride?”

She couldn’t resist, it’s too easy, “Can’t we wait til I’m full conscious again before you start that up.”

She could nearly feel his face turn red and kept her eyes closed.

“Just for that, I’m telling Snow you left your cloak off.” He said with as much dignity as he could muster, still just so happy she was safe and alive.

“Traitor.” she muttered, curling the fingers of her left hand into his shirt to hold him close.

“Yeah, yeah.”

* * *

  
Almost everything else was a blur. She was vaguely aware of horses, and getting home. There were voices and people talking, loud noises and then silence and then warm water and it just smells like home.

“You’re just doing this so I’ll play bath attendant and you can be lazy, aren’t you?” Charming asked as he rinsed the remains of soap from her hair, making sure she was free of all forest things.

“You caught me.” she murmured sleepily.

She should have probably laugh at how easily he could get her to do things and how quickly he could braid her hair, but doing so might make him whine and then she’d have to soothe his ego and that sounded like it would take more effort than she wanted to exert.

Once again he’d managed, by accident or design, to get her into the wrong clothing, this time it was an old worn in shirt of his that covered her to her thighs and before she could protest anything he’d tucked her into bed.

The covers were pulled back briefly and something warm, solid and familiar smelling was placed on her chest. She opened her eyes sleepily and smiled as for the first time in two weeks sight and heart can connect. “Hi, Emma.” She whispered, blinking back tears as she placed a kiss on the sleepy baby’s head.

Weight pressed down on her left side and she turned to see Snow lay down next to her, pulling the covers up over the three of them before leaning over and kissing Red solidly.

“Just so you know, you’re not leaving our sight till Emma’s at least twenty.” Snow warned her as she pulled away, “And next time you get to be pregnant and left behind while I worry people.”

“Deal.” Red agreed, leaning forward just enough to get another kiss before settling back against the covers again, right had on Emma’s back under the covers to steady her as Snow curled up against her left side. She moves her left arm just enough so Snow can wrap her fingers around her wrist and feel her pulse beating steady.

“Who says there’s a next time?” Charming asked, settling on her other side and sliding left arm under her to pull her close and reaching over her with his right to grab hold of Snow’s left hand. “None of us can stay out of trouble as it is, are we really adding more people who have no sense of self preservation.”

“Oh, at least three more.” Snow informed him, resting her head on Red’s shoulder where she could watch Emma.  
  



	2. Visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL AU

“What do you think, Emma?” Red asked as they watched the new group of Royals enter.

“She’s really pretty.” Emma said softly then winced, clasping her hands over her mouth.

Red smiled and crouched down to be on eye level with the ten year old. She looked through the crowd and smiled just a little brighter, “the Princess in purple, right? Her name is Aurora,” Red whispered so no one but the two of them could hear, “and she really is very pretty.” Red winked when Emma looked at her curiously and straightens up to watch the crowd again. 

Playing entertainer and protector to their daughter always fell to Red when there was a big event with other Royals; as she wasn’t technically a Royal herself she didn’t have to play nice with them and it let her disappear away if Emma got upset or she felt too overwhelmed in the centre of others.

* * *

  
“So, what do you think of the newcomers?” Snow asked as she lay stretched out in bed.

“Philip is going to be a valuable asset,” Charming mused, sitting down on his side of the bed and waiting for Red to finish dressing for bed, “Mulan as well.”

“Red?”

“‘She’s very pretty,’” Red remembered Emma’s words and said them without thinking.

“Mulan?” Charming questioned, missing Snow’s look of shock.

“No, Aurora.” Red brushed it off and tugged on her sleep shirt.

“Huh.” Charming tilted his head in thought then shook it, “Don’t see it.”

Snow reached out, grabbed his hand and tugged him to sit in the middle of the bed.

“Hey!” Charming protested, leaning down to kiss her anyway.

“Hey, my spot.” Red protested.

“Go find a spot with Aurora, if she’s so pretty.” Snow muttered with annoyance, head against Charming’s back.

* * *

  
“Move over, kid.” Red nudged Emma and climbed under the covers next to her.

“Mama?” Emma opened her eyes briefly then rearranged, wrapping her arms around Red’s torso with her head on Red’s chest. “Why you here?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Because your opinion on people got me in trouble.” Red tried not to whine, in fact it was a little funny but…

“Huh?”

“I’m protecting you since others are here. Go to sleep, Pup.”

“Night, Mama, love you.”

“Love you too.” Red said, rubbing her hand across Emma’s back in soothing patterns.

* * *

  
"You look a little lost," Red said softly, leaning over towards Aurora but keeping her eyes on Charming who spoke.

"I’m afraid politics and War are not my favourite subjects." Aurora replied, blushing slightly at being caught out.

"Oh, I understand. Let me see what I can do…" Red leaned to her other side and nudged Emma, "Want to go play outside for a bit?"

"More than anything." Emma replied, clearly half asleep.

"Then obviously there’s a protection issue and we have to leave." Red winked at her and stood after Emma did. She leaned down to speak quietly to Aurora, "Care to join Princess Emma and I on a walk outside in the fresh air."

"Could I?" Aurora looked almost desperate.

"Of course," Red offered her a hand in standing up and tried not to smile at the glare Snow sent their direction.

* * *

  
"Mom was glaring at you." Emma told her easily once they were outside and in the air.

"Yup." Red nodded.

"Why?" Emma asked, "Did you or Dad do something stupid again?"

"Nope," Red smiled, "Your Mom is just being mean for no good reason."

"Oh…" Emma paused once they reached the fresh air and grass and turned to look at Red pleadingly.

Red laughed and held out her hand, accepting the cloak Emma handed her and the quickly removed shoes that Emma rid herself of before taking off running.

"I thought you were a royal as well." Aurora asked, right arm still linked through Red’s left without thinking.

"No, just married to them." Red smiled and toyed with Emma’s cloak as they walked, slowly following the girl, "I suppose I figured all Royals’ found those meetings more interesting than I do."

Aurora shook her head and smiled, “Phillip might and Mulan is good with tactics but I’ve always found them dreadfully boring.”

"Well, in a few months you’ll have a good excuse for not going." Red offered with a smirk.

Aurora turned red and stopped in place, looking up at Red, “How…How do you know?”

"That you’re with child? The nose knows." Red tapped her nose and gently urged Aurora to continue, "It’s a wolf thing."

"I heard the rumours, but didn’t realize they were true…I suppose that would be an interesting set of skills to hold." Aurora thought about it as they walked, "Unique."

"I don’t scare you?"

"Phillip was a beast for a time as well, but he turned out fine."

"I see." Red just smiled.

"Mama!" Emma yelled, waving them on, "Play chase?"

“‘Mama’?” Aurora repeated.

"Well, it would be just plain silly to call both mothers ‘mommy’, however would we know who she wanted?" Red teased, "At least Charming has sole claim to ‘daddy’."  
Aurora nodded and smiled, “Smart.”

"Now then…Want to play chase with us?" Red asked, setting Emma’s cloak and shoes down on a clear spot in the grass.

"What is the object of ‘chase’?" Aurora asked, allowing Red to help her remove her cloak.

"Well, someone, whoever is the monster, has to chase down and catch one of those being chased. If you’re caught, you become the monster and have to do the chasing." Red set her own cloak aside for the moment, relishing the sunshine.

"Who’s the monster then?"

"Normally me to start. I’ll give you a count of ten to run." Red smiled, teeth showing in her best show at being a ‘monster’, "One, Two, Three," by three Aurora was running in the same direction as a laughing Emma.

* * *

  
Red surveyed her prey and had to smirk. She always had to hold herself back when playing any games but that didn’t mean they weren’t fun. Emma was furthest away, more adept at the game and crouched down, hoping to hide a little. Aurora was closer and more open. She’d proven good at the game so far, and in the near thirty minutes they’d been playing she’d been monster a handful of times and always managed to catch one of them.

She decided to play fair and took off after Aurora. It wasn’t hard to catch her and she quickly had an arm around Aurora’s chest, pulling the younger girl backwards and spinning in a circle to try and make her dizzy.

"Your turn." Red laughed, holding still for a moment so Aurora could catch her balance.

She heard someone clear their throat and looked up to find Snow watching them, an unreadable expression on her face but Red could smell the anger and…was that hurt?

"The meeting is over," Snow said clearly, "Emma, get your things on and come in for lunch."

"Aw, Mom," Emma whined but jogged to them and located her shoes. "You could play chase with us." Emma offered, tugging her shoes on one at a time and trying not to grumble when Snow just motioned for her to put her cloak on.

"No, you need to stop and eat." Snow told her, pointedly, "Princess Aurora, I do believe your husband was looking for you."

Red tried not to wince at the ice in her tone and also tried not to smile at her attitude. Over a decade together and she still got jealous like they were newly met.

"Of course, I’ll come in as well." Aurora stepped away from Red and straightened her clothing, searching through the grass for her cloak.

"Here," Red snagged it and held it out, helping Aurora put it on and trying hard not to laugh when Snow took Emma’s hand and walked off, not waiting for them.

"Your…spouse is angry with me." Aurora said in confusion.

"Oh, she’s really mad at me too." Red chuckled and tied her cloak in place, offering Aurora her arm again.

"Why?" Aurora questioned as they began the walk back to the castle.

"Well, can you keep a secret?"

"Of course!"

"When we greeted you all I stood off to the side with Emma. She told me she thought you were ‘really pretty’ and I agreed," Red did laugh quietly when Aurora turned pink, "Later that night Snow asked what we thought of you and I repeated what Emma had said without even thinking about it. Now, I’m not betraying our child’s trust and admitting to that so until I ‘apologize’ I’m stuck on a couch or sleeping with Emma."

"And you think befriending me will make her forgive you?" Aurora laughed in disbelief.

"Oh, Not at all! It will, however, drive her nearly mad with annoyance, jealousy and I might get something thrown at me."

"Then why do it?"

"Because you looked like you needed someone to rescue you from boring meetings and she’s really pretty when she’s mad." Red leaned close so she could only be heard by Aurora as they entered the hall.

Aurora giggled and pulled away, moving to sit by Phillip and Red winked before taking her spot on Charming’s other side.

* * *

  
Red spent most of the meal watching Emma and Snow when she was sure Snow wasn’t watching. She looked positively like a sulking teenager, picking at her food and trying not to glare in Aurora’s direction.

It didn’t help that now that Aurora knew what was going on the woman was trying not to smile and on occasion would catch eyes with Red prompting both to smile and look away in an attempt not to laugh.

It shouldn’t be funny, she really shouldn’t be egging Snow on, but it wasn’t often she had someone jealous over her.

"Will you just stop annoying Snow already?" Charming said quietly, aware only Red could hear him even as he kept his eyes on everyone else, "It makes her mad. When she’s mad I suffer too. Stop making our wife mad."

"But she’s so cute when she’s mad." Red countered with a smile that gained only an exasperated look from Charming, "You think so too."

"Yes, but that’s not the point." he looked sulky for a moment, "I can’t sleep without you there and neither can she."

"Hey, think I do any better with Emma?" Red shook her head and tried not to laugh, aware the two were now being watched.

"Yes, because she’s a sleep cuddler and clings to you." Charming countered.

"…Okay, true." Red nodded. "Don’t see why I should apologize for an opinion though."

They were quiet for several moments then Charming spoke again, his eyes studying Aurora, “I still don’t see it.”

Red laughed quietly, “That’s because you’re head over heals in love and blinded.”

"And you aren’t?"

"Oh, I am, but I see it on a purely aesthetic level."

Charming did chuckle that time, “Don’t push it though, Snow might just try and kill someone.”

"I can dodge her arrows."

"Yes, but can Aurora?" he asked.

* * *

  
"May I speak with you?" Mulan asked, voice calm but Red could catch the slight nerves and annoyance in it.

"Of course." Red looked to locate Emma and motioned for the girl to keep in sight as she stood and followed Mulan a short distance away.

"What do we need to talk about?" Red finally spoke when Mulan didn’t.

"What are your intents on Aurora?" Mulan’s voice was tense and Red nearly laughed.

"Intents? I have none, I promise." She held her right hand up, palm flat and extended. "I’m just being friendly with someone who’s just as bored with politics as I am."

"Then why is your wife glaring at her constantly?" Mulan shifted, anger gone but nerves and curiosity still there.

"Because she thinks the same as you and I haven’t felt the need to tell her to stop being stupid yet." Red admitted, "Aurora knows."

"Does she?"

"Yes. She thinks it’s silly and a little funny but knows I’m just being friendly."

"Good." Mulan nodded, "I’d hate to have to challenge you to a duel for her honour. Phillip is reluctant to fight a female as well."

Red snorted,”I would hate to have to win a fight for a girl I don’t want who’s happily married and would probably murder me moments later.”

"As long as we understand each other." Mulan smiled briefly, "Thank you for caring for her when we are busy."

"You don’t have to thank me, she’s pleasant company." Red sought out Emma again and found the girl making a crown out of flowers, "Now, Emma you might have to worry about."

"Oh?"

"I think she has a crush." Red smiled and giggled at the look Mulan got before she smiled in return.

"I’m certain Phillip and I could best a ten year old Princess." Mulan said.

Red shook her head, “You’d be surprised.”

* * *

  
"What do you listen to?" Aurora watched Red as she sat in the grass next to her, head tilted slightly, eyes closed as she relaxed back on her hands. Like they had for the past few days, Red and brought Emma and Aurora outside to play in the sun while the boring political and war talks were held.

"Lots of things." Red said, not opening her eyes. "I can hear for miles on a good day."

"What are you listening to now?" Aurora thought over how good her hearing must be and had to smile.

"Emma breathing, whispers of boring politics, your heart beating, the baby’s heart." Red listed.

"You can hear that?" Aurora asked in surprise, hand moving to rest on her stomach.

"Yes. It makes me a little sleepy though," Red admitted, "It goes so fast. I was near frantic when Snow was pregnant with Emma and I heard the heartbeat. A beat that fast couldn’t be safe, or so I thought. Granny laughed and explained to me that was just an infant thing."

"How fast does it go?" Aurora looked down at her stomach, not even quite showing yet, in awe.

Red reached over and placed the fingers of her right hand on Aurora’s thigh, eyes still closed in the sun, and started tapping out the fast beat as she heard it.

"Wow," Aurora whispered, "That’s amazing."

"Fast, strong, and very sleep inducing." Red agreed, sitting upright again and opening her eyes to find Emma. "I swear that girl is too much her parent’s child." She had to smile even as she shook her head, "Emma, if you bring another animal into the castle your mother might just ground you from the outdoors."

Emma stood guiltily, hands behind her back, “It’s just a lizard!”

"Says the girl who wanted to steal a dragon." Red muttered. "Find something else to entertain you!"

"…Can we play chase?" Emma grinned and came closer, brushing dirt from her hands onto her dress.

"Don’t we always?" Red stretched, popping her back and looked sideways to Aurora who still looked awestruck, "Care to be monster first?"

"Can I?"

* * *

  
Chase always lasted a long time, was filled with far too much laughter and by the end – if played outside – most participants were covered in dirt mostly due to falling when ‘catching’ someone.  
She had to laugh to herself when Aurora stumbled and instead of just catching Red she almost literally tackled her to the ground.

"You know, you can just make me a monster with a tap." Red said, looking up at Aurora who was red from embarrassment and laughter. "Or is this a hint?"

"Don’t flatter yourself." Aurora said as she stood up, dusting her skirt off and dancing backwards away from Red’s reach.

"I’m wounded," Red teased in mock outrage, standing and placing a hand over her heart as if shot. "Rejected, however will I continue on?"

"Drama queen." Aurora stuck her tongue out at Red and took off running when Red took a staggering step towards her.

Averting course she looked around, searching for Emma and instead spotted Grumpy watching them from a short distance away.

Red smiled and headed in that direction instead. She caught him easily, one arm around his middle, “Come help me entertain our guest and your Goddaughter.”

Grumpy scowled at her, “I think I’m supposed to be angry with you.”

"Oh?"

"Snow is and you did just get tackled by a Princess that isn’t your wife." His look made her feel like a little child in trouble.

"She tripped. Come on, Emma’d love you to play. Plus, this makes you monster." Red indicated the hand she’d left on his shoulder.

He rolled his eyes but couldn’t resist when Emma yelled for him to come play with them.

"I’m still going to act mad at you."

"Have at it." Red smiled and ran off again, putting distance between her and Grumpy.

* * *

  
Another day, another meeting, only this time there was no escape. It was pouring rain outside which meant they couldn’t go play chase, there were no flowers to pick and worst of all they had to sit through the talks.

Emma sat on one side of her, half asleep and leaning against her shoulder and Aurora sat on the other looking like she’d rather be anywhere else.

The rain didn’t come with any thunder, which was a mixed blessing. No thunder meant she wasn’t scared and it didn’t hurt her ears, but it also meant she had no reason to escape, change and hide in their bed.

Red sighed and shifted, crossing her legs at the ankle under the table and tried to find something to do. Under the noise of the rain and the speaking of everyone else she could hear a dozen or more heartbeats, all beating in their own rhythm, but underneath it was that one tiny heartbeat that made her smile.

She reached with her left hand and absently touched Aurora’s, pulling it under the table.

Aurora looked at her questioningly but smiled when Red started tapping out that rhythm again against her palm with her middle finger.

A quick, hard beat that no one else would understand but that made Aurora smile and feel more content.

Red focused on that and on counting Emma’s breaths as they slowed into near slumber, not really paying much attention to anything till a whisper from Charming across the room caught her attention; “Stop with the hand holding with Aurora before Snow starts yelling and I threaten a duel for your honour.”

Oops. Red re-examined her situation and nearly winced. To anyone else it probably did look like she was holding Aurora’s hand and the smile Aurora held didn’t make it look any better.

* * *

  
"Hey, hey, Charming!" Red hurried after him and grabbed his arm to stop him. Snow had already gone in the opposite direction with Emma to take her down for lunch, but Charming had to put papers away. "Wait!"

"What?" he asked, turning to face her with a look of annoyance and hurt.

"I wasn’t holding her hand." Red told him seriously.

"Looked like it." He paused, "What were you doing?"

Red took his hand in hers, turning it so his palm faced upwards and started tapping the beat that was now faint from the distance between them.

His eyes lit up in understanding, “Aurora is…”

"Yes." Red nodded, "I showed her that the other day when we were outside and she thought it amazing. I was bored and that beat was making me sleep so…" Red shrugged and stopped the beat, resting her hand over his still anyway. "Notice it’s only you and Snow acting jealous. Phillip and Mulan aren’t."

"I…" He frowned, "I’m not jealous and…why aren’t they?"

"Mulan actually asked me what I was up to." Red rolled her eyes, "Aurora’s bored and lonely while you guys discuss politics so I keep her company."

"Yes, you keep company with someone you think is pretty." Charming said sulkily but hid a small smiled as they started walking down the hallway together.

Red scoffed, “If I had intents towards everyone I thought pretty in one way or another I’d never get sleep.”

Charming shook his head, “Go talk to Snow before someone gets murdered.” he ordered before kissing her and nudging her away.

She gave a mock salute and turned to leave him and find their girls.

* * *

  
"Trade me seats, pup." Red said, tapping Emma on her shoulder and gesturing to the empty seat she normally occupied on the other side of Charming. Charming had yet to return but Emma lit up anyway, quickly standing to let Red take her place.

Red sank down into the now vacated seat and looked sideways at Snow who was obviously trying to ignore her.

"You look like someone half Emma’s age when you sulk like that." Red observed quietly, reclining in her seat and smirking at Snow’s petulant look.

"I’m mad at you already, don’t push it." Snow sent her a glare.

"I wasn’t holding her hand, if that’s what this particular bout of anger is for."

"Then what were you doing?"

Red reached out, taking Snow’s hand with her own and like with Charming she tapped against her palm the steady beat that was much easier to hear now that she was back in the same room with Aurora.

"A heart…who…Aurora." Snow murmured, looking down at their hands almost lost in memory. "You were falling asleep, weren’t you?"

"It’s raining, there were politics and that particular beat is very…lulling." Red admitted, ceasing the beat but still holding Snow’s hand in her own.

Even once Charming came down and sat in his spot Red didn’t move. She kept her right hand under the table, fingers entwined with Snow’s left hand. She didn’t need her right hand free to eat.

She listened to the conversation all around, tried to ignore the fact that Charming and Emma were both playing around at the table and was just content that Snow hadn’t pulled away in annoyance or gotten angry yet.

"Mama," Emma said happily a few minutes in, "When the rain lets up can we go play Chase again with Princess Aurora?"

She felt Snow’s grip tighten around her hand slightly and could hear the minute jump of her heart that led to it beating faster.

"I’m not playing chase in the mud again," Red said lightly, rubbing the back of Snow’s hand with her thumb, "Remember what happened last time?"

Emma giggled, “Daddy hit his head and Mom made us take baths.”

"No chase in the mud." Red smiled back at her, "Maybe tomorrow if it’s dried and she wants to."

"That would be nice," Aurora smiled at them.

"Ah, we get to sit through stuffy meetings and decide the fate of our kingdoms while you get to go play outside," Phillip said with a mock pout, "I feel I get the unfair bit of that deal."

"You could play too," Emma told him, "Mama’s good at being the Monster but Princess Aurora can catch her!"

Aurora turned slightly pink and looked down, “I doubt I could catch her if she did not want to be caught.”

Emma didn’t quite catch the look Red sent her and smiled brightly, “Daddy can. Even when Mama’s going real fast and quiet he can always catch her.”

"I’m pretty sure she lets me." Charming admitted, laughing lightly, "Your Mama’s a pretty good Chase player."

"Snow catches me often." Red said, trying to ignore the hurt that came with Snow pulling her hand away from Red and resting it back on her own lap.

"You let me." Snow said just as softly,"Because you’re so much faster than us."

Emma nodded, “No one’s faster than my Mama. But Mom hides best,” Emma told them, “And Daddy knows how to do tea parties right.”

Efficiently distracted by the now blushing Charming, talk turned away from Aurora and Red, though Snow didn’t look back at Red or offer her her hand again.

* * *

  
"Hey, stop a moment." Red said, reaching out and grabbing Snow’s hand, pulling her backwards and into a hug before she could protest.

Everyone had left lunch and gone off in their separate directions for the moment, a small break before they either continued on or found something more entertaining to do.  
Red wrapped her arms around Snow tightly, holding the shorter woman close and smiling when Snow’s arms wrapped around her waist automatically.

She ducked her head to speak directly to Snow and not be overheard by anyone who might pass by, “Whatever you think I think, whatever you think I’ve done, I don’t and I haven’t.” Red said, brushing Snow’s hair off of her shoulder and down her back.

"I…I don’t…"Snow mumbled, forehead pressed against Red’s neck, "I…"

"Mom? Will you come read with me?" Emma’s voice interrupted them and both turned to see her standing near the end of the hall, Charming looking a mixture of guilty and annoyed next to her.

  
"What? Of course, baby," Snow pulled away from Red, though this time she smiled and let Red hold onto her hand for a few seconds longer before she walked to Emma’s side and took her hand, the duo leaving to go either to Emma’s nursery or the library.

"Sorry." Charming winced, "I tried to stop her."

"I’ll talk to Snow again later." Red told him, letting him pull her into a hug, "You know, after over a decade together you’d think she’d not get jealous."

"Hmm, maybe it’s because of the time that she’s jealous." Charming pointed out, playing with Red’s hair absently.

"Oh?"

"Well, we’ve been together for over a decade," he repeated almost teasingly, getting a smile in return, "And in walks some new, younger Princess that you think is pretty and you say as much…in our bedroom where we…sleep."

"Oh…" Red winced, "Oops."

"Mhmm. Now, we’ve got about an hour till Emma or Snow switch games and track one of us down. What do you want to do till then?"

"What do we normally do when we have an hour spare and an almost certain guarantee we won’t be interrupted?" she shot back, gaining a giant grin from Charming.

* * *

  
Events seemed to conspire to keep them apart for the rest of the day, but when Red went to head towards Emma’s room to bed down, Snow caught her hand and pulled her towards their room.

"This mean you forgive me?" Red asked curiously.

"It means we can’t sleep without you and don’t push it." Snow replied, sounding more than a little pouty.

Red watched her for a moment then shook her head and climbed into bed, burrowed under the covers and felt Charming crawl in behind her, arm wrapping around her stomach and holding her close. “Fine, but we’re talking tomorrow.” Red said even as Snow moved to curl up against her front.

"Mhmm."

* * *

  
First thing in the morning as light just barely began to stream through the windows they were rudely awakened by an enthusiastic ten year old bouncing into the room.

"Your daughter is up." Snow mumbled against Red’s neck.

"Didn’t we settle years ago that before dawn she’s yours?" Charming yawned in reply.

"Ugh." Red opened her eyes and sent a mock glare to Emma, "Why are you up?"

"I’m hungry and lonely." Emma said simply, climbing to sit on the end of their bed.

Charming sat up, snagged the girl who shrieked in laughter and protest and pulled her under the covers between him and Red, “Go back to sleep till the sun is out.”

"It is out." Emma complained but snuggled down against him anyway.

"Not fully." Charming countered.

* * *

  
Of course it doesn’t rain and the sun is shining so brightly that by time the meeting starts most of the mud from the day before is baked dry.  
Red tried to ignore that, tried to focus on the meeting and watches Snow the entire time. It gets a little harder not to squirm when talk turns to the more dull boring bits of politics with money – she only added in information when it comes to land or war – and even harder to pay attention when Emma started whining next to her, fed up at being inside at the talks.

Thomas and Ella are nicer than her parents, Emma told her once, because they let Alexandra stay home with her grandfather instead of coming to these.

About the tenth time Emma shifted she accidentally knocks loose her empty cup and it clattered to the ground loudly.

Red closed her eyes, counted to five and looks sideways at the embarrassed girl, “Want to go outside?”

"Please?" Emma begged.

They lasted a full thirty minutes longer than normal and even Aurora looks sleepier.

She caught Charming’s eyes and smiled apologetically as she stood to follow Emma, absently offering Aurora a hand as well.

She can feel, rather than see the hurt look Snow is trying to mask.

* * *

  
"I think one more day of us running around outside and you might be killed and skinned." Aurora observed, walking quietly besides Red as Emma ran ahead, shoes and cloak abandoned to Red’s care.

"Every time I try to talk to her something interrupts. I’ll talk to her at lunch, while others are busy."

"Mama!" Emma called back, dancing in place, "Ready?"

Red smiled and looked to Aurora, “Would you like to be it first or should I be?”

"Why not make Emma play monster first." Aurora smiled at the girl, "Make her work harder."

* * *

  
It’s around the tenth time the ‘monster’ is changed out that Red heard someone approaching. She’d been listening closer ever since Snow had surprised her the first day.  
This time it’s Snow again and Red had to smile. She looked around for who was nearest and quickly reached out, pressing her hand against Aurora’s side and smirking before leaping backwards and out of reach of the new monster.

Aurora laughed and noticed Snow, turning to chase after Emma instead, despite the fact she was further away.

Red didn’t feel the need to slow herself up and was next to Snow before the other woman could do anything. “Come to play with us?” Red asked brightly, wrapping an arm around Snow’s middle and watching Emma dart away from Aurora’s attempts at catching her.

"Came to tell you to come inside for lunch." Snow responded, watching Emma as well.

"We’ve got a few minutes, we won’t starve…Play a round or two with us?" Red pouted, hoping to get Snow to agree, "You’re better at it than Emma."

"I’ve played longer." Snow replied then shook her head, "You three are well enough on your own."

"It’s more fun with more players." Red disagreed, watching as Aurora finally managed to touch Emma, turning her into the monster.  
Emma instantly turned and set her sights on her mothers.

"You three—"

"I don’t think you have a choice, sweetie, Emma’s going to tackle one of us and I can move quicker." Red teased, watching and waiting for when to move. "Just a round or two, then we’ll go inside."

Red sidestepped as Emma came running and laughed as Emma overbalanced while trying to stop and toppled both Snow and herself onto the ground.

"You’re it!" Emma said, looking down at her mom with a bright grin.

"Am I?" Snow asked. "Guess you better run then."

Emma scrambled to her feet and hurried backwards, “Run, Mama, Mom will get you too!”

"Oh, I don’t think that’s such a bad thing." Red replied but did start moving backwards as Snow climbed to her feet and narrowed her eyes at them.

"Uh oh…" Emma ran backwards and laughed, yelling to Aurora, "Run fast cause Mom’s really good."

"See? We have so much more fun when you’re here." Red said, moving backwards as Snow advanced.

"Better run, wolfgirl." Snow threatened with a smile and Red turned, running instead of sticking around.

* * *

  
By time they did head in for lunch all four were rather breathless and spotted in dirt or grass.

"Maybe tomorrow we should choose an easier game." Aurora laughed, letting Emma lead her into the castle as Red walked slightly behind, her arm linked with Snow’s.

"Sometimes we play ‘hide and seek’ inside," Emma told her, "But Daddy says Mama can’t play unless she’s sick because she can smell and hear us."

"Sounds like fun." Aurora observed, glancing back at the duo with a smile.

Red laughed, “Snow and Charming are better seekers than I am, I cheat.”

Aurora giggled, “Unique traits are now cheating?”

"Yes." Red looked to the side and saw the same small frown had returned to Snow’s face and bit her lip, "Emma, why don’t you go with Aurora and tell Daddy you’re supposed to stay with him. I need to talk with your Mom for a moment."

Emma looked curious but nodded, taking Aurora’s hand and heading in the direction of the hall where they ate. Red used her grip on Snow’s arm to get her to continue on in the other direction, away from them. “You’re upset with me again.”

"I’m —"

"Don’t deny it," Red said simply, "I can tell when you’re angry, even without the wolf thing. I’ve known you too long, so tell me what is wrong now?"

"You’re…You’re spending all your time with her." Snow said quietly, looking anywhere but at Red as they walked, "Skipping out on meetings, after mealtimes, just her and Emma."

"Emma, as proven earlier today, can’t sit through the entire meeting without causing a disturbance so it’s smart to take her outside. I can still hear you speak from where we play if I pay attention."

"I understand that but you take Princess Aurora as well."

"She gets just as bored at the meetings and her spouses handle themselves well enough they don’t need her to say much." Red countered.

"Plus she’s ‘very pretty’, right?" Snow snapped, trying to pull away.

"Hey, don’t start pulling away," Red said, changing her grip to look Snow in the eye, "Is this what you’re still mad about? I called another woman ‘pretty’?"

"She’s…You’re…You spend all your time with her now," Snow muttered, looking away, "Look, I get it, she’s young and pretty and she hasn’t had a baby." the last bit was mumbled a bit quieter.

Red stared at Snow who was staring down at her feet, stunned. Really? “She’s young **er** ,” Red stressed, “And pretty, yes but you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Oh, and the baby thing won’t apply for long and shouldn’t really be factored into this anyway.”

Snow still looked away, turning pink.

"I’m serious, Snow," Red pulled her into a hug, "She’s pretty like a piece of art to look at but not the beautiful woman I’m in love with and have been in love with since I first met." She pulled back, right hand holding Snow’s hand tightly and tugged her to follow her once more, "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Snow asked, wiping away tears.

"Our room."

"Why?" Red just sent her a pointed look over her shoulder. "Oh," Snow flushed, "But what about Emma?"

"Emma can be entertained by her father for one afternoon." Red scoffed, "I’m certain he can handle it."

* * *

  
"Ah, so you two have made up, have you?" Charming asked rhetorically as he entered their bedroom and saw the two curled up under the blankets.

"Mhmm." Red said sleepily, arms wrapped protectively around Snow.

He shook his head and tried not to laugh when he noticed the bright red bite mark on Red’s shoulder he knew from experience would bruise rather nicely, “Am I ever going to fully know exactly why you two were fighting?”

"Wasn’t a fight, was just me being stupid." Snow mumbled against Red’s neck.

"Ah." Charming knew better than to say anything. "Just so you know our daughter has decided that she wants to be a royal knight so she can go on an adventure and win a fair Princesses heart."

"Which one?" Snow asked, not really caring.

"Aurora’s, actually." Charming sat on the edge of the bed and shot Red an amused yet annoyed look, "Apparently she’s ‘very pretty’ and ‘really nice’."

Red really did try not to laugh but didn’t manage it, “Told you I voiced an opinion, didn’t say who’s it was.”

"When I’m not overly tired I’m going to hit you for making me freak out." Snow threatened.  
  



	3. Nesting

"What are you doing?" Snow watched as Charming drug Emma’s mattress from the upstairs bedroom onto the small landing.

"Making a nest." he said cheerfully holding himself up on the railing and the wall and kicking the mattress, sending it down the stairs sideways, producing a loud thump on each stair.

He followed it down moments later the normal way and grabbed one end, walking backwards to pull it where he needed it to be.

Charming had already shoved the couch back out of the way and was easily able to maneuver the long end of the mattress to fit against the front of the couch.

"I see that. Can I ask why?" Snow tried not to laugh and just sat down on the kitchen counter, sipping her tea and watching his antics.

"Because it helps with family bonding, creating crucial emotional ties and is a good idea for  
nightmares,” Charming recited almost like he were reading something out loud as he stripped the cushions from the couch and then flipped the couch over onto it’s back, shoving the mattress tight against it again and lining the underside of it with the cushions.

"Oh? Where’s that from?"

"Parenting books," He admitted, stripping his shirt off and tossing it aside as he set his sights on their  
mattress.

"Carry on then," Snow gave a mock salute and jumped down off the counter, setting her tea cup in the sink. "I’m going to go somewhere a little less insane. Call me if you get trapped."

Charming just waved her off as he shoved the mattress with his shoulder and slid it off the box-springs.

* * *

  
"What’s up?" Emma asked, fighting with a very unruly looking male. As she ducked his punch she  
swung her own fist forward, impacting his stomach and sending him sprawling backwards into the cell.

"I figured I’d come here because it’d be less insane." Snow said, clearly holding back the urge to go  
kick the now complaining drunkard and forcing herself to stay behind the deputy’s desk as Emma locked the cell doors.

"You came to the sheriff’s station in a fairy tale overrun town in hopes of normality?" Emma laughed  
and hung her coat up on the hook. “Exactly how was that supposed to work?”

"I don’t know." Snow sighed and sat down on the edge of the deputy desk, "Stupid hope? It was you  
or go see what Red’s up to and we know that wouldn’t end well.”

Emma made a face, “Please, don’t go there. I don’t like that image.”

Snow scoffed, “If it weren’t for that image you wouldn’t be here.”

"Don’t want to hear it. So if it’s normal here, what’s it like back at the apartment?" Emma questioned, sitting in the desk chair.

"Well, you father is constructing a nest out of pretty much every soft surface in the apartment." Snow  
told her.

"Why?" Emma was clearly just as baffled.

"I don’t know, something about emotions and bonding." she sighed.

"Oh God, he’s found the parenting books didn’t he?" Emma groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"I think so."

* * *

  
"Whoah, what’s this?" Red sat her bag down and looked into the livingroom with a mix of shock and amusement. It looked like all three mattresses – Henry and Emma’s small ones from upstairs – had been brought down and arranged on the floor. They were framed on one side by the upturned couch and on the other side it looked like Charming had created a wall from cushions. The entire thing was covered in various comforters, blankets, sheets and pillows.

"A nest!" Charming proclaimed from the center of it, bouncing on his knees.

"A nest?" She repeated with a laugh, taking off her coat and draping it over the island counter.

"Yup." Charming stood up and walked across it, taking the small step off and greeted her with a hug and a mostly chaste kiss. "Parenting books state that a family bed creates better emotional bonds, fosters good relationships and even helps keep away nightmares." he added, resting his head on top of hers. "Figure it can’t hurt at all."

"Sounds nice, actually." Red agreed, leaning against him.

"Thought you’d be on my side." he grinned.

"Is that a wolf dig?" she teased, looking up at him.

"Well, wolves do tend to den together in one big fluffy pile, right?" He rubbed her shoulder with his hand and laughed quietly when she elbowed him.

"Fine, I’ll back you. I just want to see Emma’s face when she shows up and sees this."

* * *

  
"This is awesome!" Henry yelled, tossing his backpack aside and landing with a running leap in the  
middle of the nest.

"I know, right?" Charming picked up his backpack and hung it on it’s hook. "Back me up when your Mom complains.”

"Why would anyone ever complain about this?" Henry sat up and looked around. Enclosed on two sides, TV at the ‘foot’ of it, it was safe, cozy and neat.

"Don’t know, but if they do you and Red got my back, right?"

"Always, Gramps!"

* * *

 

"I thought you were kidding." Emma said slowly, eyes glued to the nest where Henry and Charming sat watching cartoons together in the middle of a giant fluffy pile of bedding. "A physical nest. He made a literal nest.”

"I’d say ‘den’ but that could just be me." Red said evenly.

"I wouldn’t kid about that." Snow shook her head, "It’s more impressive than it was last time I saw it."

"I’m seriously running out of reactions lately." Emma covered her eyes with her hand.

"Come on, Mom! It’s really cool." Henry patted the mattress next to him.

  
"Really?" Emma eyed the nest with something akin to caution even as Charming tucked Henry in under a mass of blankets and a kiss to the forehead goodnight.

"Yes, really." Snow rolled her eyes as she tied off the braid she’d just finished in Emma’s hair. "Humor him, at least for tonight.”

Red, ignoring the fact that two sides were open, vaulted over the couch and landed with a thump at the top of one of the mattresses, back against the cushions.

Emma tried not to laugh as Red rearranged pillows and blankets till she was sprawled out under two  
comforters with room on either side of her. “I’m tired.” she said plainly when Charming did laugh. “Come keep me warm.”

"I’m going to sleep in the bathtub." Emma groaned.

"Come on," Snow grabbed Emma’s hand and hauled her onto the mattresses, "Pick a spot."

Emma grabbed a pillow and sat down not too far from Henry. “Okay, fine,” She put the pillow down and spread her arms in a ‘I give up’ gesture.

Charming grinned and grabbed one of the big comforters and motioned for her to lie down. As soon as she did he had the comforter over top of her and was tucking it in under her feet. “Hey, Snow?” He gestured and a moment later her baby blanket was thrown into his hands. “Thanks.” he spread it out over top of the blanket over her torso and couldn’t resist a forehead kiss goodnight like he’d done Henry.

 

* * *

  
When Emma awoke in the morning it was to a solid presence laying across her chest and someone’s hand in hers. She opened her eyes and looked down to see Henry had decided to curl up across her at some point, his arms around her torso like she were a giant bear. The hand in hers belonged to Snow who was holding it strongly, though apparently still asleep.

"You were having bad dreams," Red said quietly, peeking at her from over Snow’s shoulder, "Didn’t quiet down till Snow grabbed you.” Red smiled almost teasingly, “Knew you’d be a mommy’s girl.”

Emma flushed bright red, “I didn’t…”

“‘s okay.” Red yawned and lay back down, stretching and curling up against Charming again, using the man as a lifesized teddybear, “You’re allowed to need your mom on occasion.”

Emma bit her lip and brought her free hand up, toying absently with Henry’s hair. ‘Mom’ was a new word, a very weird word to her. It was strange enough to be a mom, let alone have one…Two,  
technically.

She closed her eyes and lay back, listening to everyone’s steady breathing and allowed herself to fall back asleep.

* * *

  
"Emma. Emma." a soft voice was calling and there was a gentle touch on the side of her face, just trying to pull her out of sleep.

"Mary Margaret?" she mumbled sleepily, trying to force her eyes open. She found Snow looking back at her and blinked away the blurriness that came with sleep. “What’s up?”

"You’ve got about an hour before you have to be to work. If you want to walk Henry to school you should get moving soon." Snow said, brushing the few loose strands of hair that had escaped their braid out of Emma’s eyes and smiling before she stood up and backed away, heading back to the kitchen where Charming was manning the stove.

"Where’s Red?" She asked, sitting up and stretching.

"Diner. She said stop by at lunch so she can make sure you eat." Charming informed her as he flipped pancakes, only an apron away from being Mr. Mom.

* * *

  
"Hey, Pup, how’d you sleep?" Red asked eagerly when Emma and Charming showed up at the diner at lunchtime.

"Great, actually." Emma replied, blushing at the nickname that she couldn’t dissuade Red from using.

"Score one for ‘the loon with the parenting book’." Charming mimed tallying a point and nudged Emma when she laughed at him.

"I never called you a loon." Red countered with a smirk.

Charming grinned,”Thanks, I —”

"I said ‘lunatic’, Henry was laughing and you didn’t hear it right." Red said cheekily, ducking the overly exaggerated attempt to smack her on the arm.

"Could be worse." Emma admitted as they laughed. At least they were trying.  
  



	4. Relationships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL AU, Woodenswan

 "Here, you can play with this." Pinocchio offered the crying baby, holding out the wooden whale he’d made. When Emma whined and kept crying, he frowned, "Did I make the Princess mad?" He asked Red worriedly.

"No, sweetie, she’s just hungry." Red assured him, bouncing Emma in her arms lightly. "Once she’s fed and changed you can try and play again, okay?"

"Okay…you sure?" he asked timidly.  
  


"I’m sure." Red smiled at him.

* * *

  
“Want to hold her?” Red asked the little boy, tilting her arms a little so the now behaving Princess could see the room.  
  
“Could I?” Pinocchio nearly bounced in place at the thought.  
  
“Why not?” Red pulled him over to the corner while the adults talked and sat down on the floor, ignoring any dust or dirt that could get onto her skirts and waited till Pinocchio sat in front of her,  
“Okay, arms up like you’re carrying a bag close.” She reached out with her right arm, keeping Emma cradled close with her left, and adjusted his arms carefully. Once she was satisfied she leaned forward again and placed Emma carefully in his arms. His arms dropped a little with the new weight so she moved her hands to under his arms till she was sure he was steady. “How’s that?”  
  
“She’s so tiny!” Pinocchio said in awe, staring down at the infant who stared back up at him, blue eyes watching his moves with a deeply concerned look on her face.  
“She’s only a few weeks,” Red adjusted Emma’s blankets so the baby had a hand free and smiled at the two. “She’ll get bigger. Big enough to be a playmate eventually.”  
  
“We can play together now,” Pinocchio said quickly, looking up at Red with such a determined and sweet expression she had to smile, “I can play baby games. I don’t mind!”  
  
“I’m sure you can,” Red touched her finger to Emma’s nose and watched the baby wave at her hand.  
“Maybe you can help me watch her when they’re talking.”  
  
“I can do that!” Pinocchio promised, “I can watch the Princess.”  
  


* * *

  
"No’co?" Emma frowned, letting go of her Mom’s skirt so she could sit down properly and look under the table for the boy she’d been following. She noticed Geppetto’s smile and watched him motion down beside him. Emma smiled happily and ducked under the table to crawl beneath it, coming out next to a smiling little boy. "No’co!" She giggled, clapping her hands before reaching her hands towards him.  
The little boy easily lifted the one year old Princess onto his lap and showed her the little wood soldiers he’d been playing with while the adults talked.  
  
“Papa and I made them,” Pinocchio spoke softly, arms around Emma carefully as he held the soldier in front of both of them, “They even move!”  
  
“No’co!” Emma pushed the toy away and turned on his lap, using his shirt to hold herself in place so she could watch him, a happy smile in place.  
  
Pinocchio laughed, trying to stay quiet even as she covered his eyes with one slobbery hand then pulled it away with a giggle. “Peek-a-boo?” He teased when she did it again, causing her to giggle harder.  
  


* * *

  
"Like this," Pinocchio showed Emma how to use the sanding stone on the little flower shape he’d been making.  
  
The two year old clumsily tried to mimic his actions but didn’t manage to do anything beyond few carving a few grooves in the wood. He held back the wince and covered her hand in his, “Gently,” he said, controlling her hand with his. “See?” he moved his hand slowly, producing a low scraping noise as the rock moved over the petals.  
  
"No’co do." Emma sighed and withdrew her tiny hand from under his. "Em no do." she held her hands apart in a helpless gesture.  
  
"Em can do." Pinocchio took her hand in his again, "Just takes practice, Princess!" He smiled at her and began working again, this time she ‘helped’ more. He could always make a new flower if this one turned out flawed. But sometimes flaws were okay, sometimes they made the product better.  
  


* * *

  
"No’co got me." Emma promised her parents, clinging to Pinocchio’s hand. "Please?" She smiled big.

"No going out of the gardens." Snow told her, reaching out and brushing the hair from Emma’s face.

"And stay with him."

"Watch out for my Pup, Pinocchio." Red added. 

Pinocchio nodded and gave a little salute, “I’ve got her!”

-  
"For the princess!" Pinocchio exclaimed, holding out a bundle of daisy’s he’d picked.  
  
Emma giggled and took them, holding the little bouquet in her hands.”T’ank you!” She gave a little curtsy like her mom and he gave a half bow back.  
  
"Let’s go see the fish pond! You know, I saw a REALLY big fish once." Pinocchio told her as he took her left hand in his right hand.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"HUGE!" the twelve year old exclaimed, throwing his other hand wide, “So big it could eat an entire bed in one gulp!”  
  
“What you do?”  
  
“We ran!” Pinocchio started the story, unable to hide the smile at the look of awe she gave him.  
  


* * *

  
“I’m going to catch you!” Pinocchio yelled, chasing down the stone hallways after the giggling six year old. She wasn’t exactly hard to catch up to speed wise, but she was a devil to actually get his arms around. The little girl had a habit of ducking right between his legs and speeding off in the opposite direction the moment he had her cornered.  
  
“Nuh-uh!” Emma yelled back to him, rounding the corner ahead, boots making solid thunks every time they impacted the ground. There was definitely no hiding your direction when running in this castle.

He and his Papa didn’t actually live inside the castle, Papa didn’t like that idea though Queen Snow and King Charming had offered them that choice, but instead in a little house that wasn’t very far away. He got to spend his days working on projects with his Papa to sell to people and on days they weren’t busy he could sneak off to the castle to play with Emma. Often one of her parents would join in the game.  
Red was always really nice to him, playing games just the two of them and offering him help when he needed it.  
  
“Yeah huh!” He darted around the corner, gaining speed and leaned down, grabbing her under her arms and lifting her up, spinning in a circle and holding her close. “Gotcha!”  
  
“Lucky.” Emma pouted though its impact was diminished by the grin threatening. “Go three for five?”  
  
“Oh? You think you can get me again?” Pinocchio tickled her side, making her squirm and giggle in his arms.  
  
“Catch you fine!” Emma threatened, “I’m a hunter like my Mama!”  
  
“Uh huh,” Pinocchio was careful to maintain his grip on her legs as he flipped her upside down in his arms, making sure her skirt stayed in place, and tickled her more till she was red and laughing so hard her eyes were starting to water. “Think so?”  
  
“I am!” She protested, wriggling to get away.  
  
He carefully lowered her to the floor and stepped back, “Count to ten.” he insisted, the start of their game. She wouldn’t get past five but at least the thought was there.  
  
“One,” Emma counted off dutifully, “Two.”  
  
By ‘three’ Pinocchio was halfway down the hall. He could run his normal speed and easily out do her, but then there’d be no fun in it!  
  
-  
  
Pinocchio ran and found himself skidding on the stone floors and just went with it, sliding to his knees and collapsing onto his back, hands over his chest and closed his eyes.  
  
There was a moment of silence and then a snicker and a few laughs.  
  
“Um, Pinocchio, what are you doing?” Red asked curiously.  
He opened one eye and looked over at the table where Red, Charming and Snow sat with several other royals and advisers in the middle of a meeting. “I’m dying a horrible painful death that only a Princess can save me from.” he closed his eye again.  
  
“Ah…and is that Princess on her way?” Snow barely hid the giggle.  
  
“Yup. She’s got a sword too now shush, I’m dying here!”

-  
  
He kept his eyes closed tightly even when he heard the seven year old run in, her ‘armor’ clanking as her feet hit the ground.  
  
“Found you.” Emma’s voice said from above him and he heard her kneel down next to him.  
  
Pinocchio kept quiet though and held his breath to keep his chest from moving. He was well aware the group meeting were probably watching him while talking, but the fifteen year old really didn’t care if they laughed. If it made Emma happy he’d preform all sorts of embarrassing feats, including playing the Damsel in distress.  
  
He felt her move over him then felt her kiss his forehead and made a big show of breathing deeply and opening his eyes wide. “You saved me!” he proclaimed, staring up at her in awe.  
  
Emma giggled and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Always.” she promised.  
  


* * *

  
  
“You can’t go!” Emma yelled, pacing around Pinocchio’s room as he packed, “You can’t!”  
  
“Emma, I want to see the world.” the twenty-one year old sighed, aware she was upset but not understanding why she was nearly hysterical. “Just a trip around the kingdoms and I’ll be back.”  
  
“You can’t go! You’re my friend, you have to stay with me.” Emma pleaded, grabbing onto his hand.  
  
“You have Alexandra and your siblings. It’s not like you’ll be wanting for playmates.” Pinocchio sighed and pushed her lightly to sit on the bed, crouching down in front of her, “You’ll barely notice I’m gone you’ll be having so much fun without me.”  
  
“No, I won’t!” Emma shook her head furiously, tears making tracks down her face, “Don’t go, No’co. Please?” Emma pleaded, her lip quivering as she watched him.  
  
“I’m sorry, Princess, but I’m going.” Pinocchio stepped back, trying to pretend his heart wasn’t breaking, “I’ll be back, I promise. I just…I want to lose myself to find myself.”  
  
“That’s stupid.”  
  
“Sorry, Emma, but I’m going.” He placed his little blue star shaped knit blanket, a gift from Granny as a small child, on top of his clothing and tied his bag shut. He turned in time to see her bolt from the room in tears. “I’m sorry.” he repeated softly.  
  
He pulled his bag over his shoulders and went down to find his Papa in his workshop.  
  
“You made the Princess cry,” Geppetto told him evenly, taking off his glasses and setting them aside next to his current project.  
  
“Only a little,” Pinocchio sighed, “She’ll get better. She’ll hardly miss me this summer with everyone coming to visit.”  
  
“Oh, I doubt she’ll forget you’re gone.” Jiminy said from his spot on Geppetto’s table.  
  
“She’ll have fun without me.” Pinocchio repeated, unsure on who he was assuring of that. “I’ll be back. It’s not like I’m gone forever.”  
  
“Sometimes it may feel that way.” Geppetto stood from his stool and crossed to embrace his son.  
“Return soon.”  
  
“Of course, Papa.” Pinocchio hugged him back tightly. “I’ll be back before you know it!”

* * *

  
“I’m just going to take a quick trip up to the castle,” Pinocchio promised his Geppetto, “See how Emma is and give her her present,” He tapped the wrapped book under his arms, “I’ll be back for dinner if she doesn’t hold me hostage again.”  
  
Two years of travel had done him a lot of good, he’d grown his hair out just a little, he’d finally let himself grow a scruffy beard – something Emma had always teased him about whenever he tried – and found more freedom than he’d ever imagined.  
  
He’d sent letters back all the time, receiving a few from his father along the way but never any from Emma. She was probably to busy to write him though, having fun with her siblings, Alexandra; distracted by boys trying to court her.  
  
She was fifteen now, she probably didn’t have time for a childhood playmate.  
  
Pinocchio had barely made it through the castle gates when he heard the sound of paws hitting dirt, heading in his direction fast.  
He barely had time to brace himself before he was tackled hard aside into the grass, book flying from his arms.  
  
“Hey! That hurt!” Pinocchio whined and pushed at the large wolf holding him down. Instead of a lick or anything playful he received a growl. “What? Red?”  
  
Red shifted back but didn’t step off of him, sitting on his chest to hold him down. “You jerk!” She yelled, punching him in the shoulder hard enough he yelped. “Stupid, inconsiderate, block headed…moron!”  
  
“Ow, hey!” Pinocchio shifted in protest each time she smacked him, “What’d I do?”  
  
“You’re an idiot and you broke my Pup’s heart you jerk!” She smacked him once more than stood and glared down at him. After a moment she offered her hand and pulled him up to his feet when he grabbed it.  
  
“I thought she’d have fun with her friends without me around.” Pinocchio shrugged then winced at the pain it gave him.  
  
Red stared at him for a moment, “Did the Blue Fairy skimp on brains or something? You’re her best friend! She missed you more than anything.”  
  
“Oh…” Pinocchio looked at his feet, “Um, I brought her a present? I’m back now…” He tried to look away but found himself looking up at Red almost pitifully, “Did you miss me?”  
  
Red sighed and tugged him into a tight hug that he returned happily despite his protesting shoulder, “Of course I did. You’re not allowed to go away like that ever again.” She warned him, “And stop growing. My pups aren’t allowed to be taller than me and neither are you.”  
  
Pinocchio’s face lit up in a smile and he nodded even though she couldn’t see him, “I’ll try.”  
  
“Oh, and watch out for Snow and Charming. They’ll be harder on you.” Red warned as she stepped back and grabbed his book, holding it out to him.  
  
“There’s worse than turning my arm black and blue?”  
  
“Charming has a sword, Snow can shoot an apple off of someone’s head from a hundred yards away. Run, pup, run.” Red smirked, walking away.  
  
“Where’s Emma?”  
  
“Down at the stables!”  
–  
He found two blonde teenagers down at the stables, both dressed not quite like commoners, but not quite like Princesses either.  
  
It had been two years but there was no mistaking which one was Emma and which was Alexandra. He found himself just watching for a minute, thinking over Red’s words.  
  
Had he really upset her that much?  
  
After a few minutes Alexandra spotted him though, turning and smiling, speaking quietly enough to Emma that he couldn’t hear it.  
  
Emma whirled on the spot with a gasp however, face lighting up when she saw him. “Pinocchio!”  
  
He didn’t have time to brace himself this time and found himself quickly with an armfull of Princess.  
“Hey, Princess,” Pinocchio held onto her tightly, shuffling oddly due to his book in one arm and his other arm being bruised, “Told you I’d be back.”  
  
“You left me you jerk.” Emma pulled back, wiping at her eyes.  
  
“I came back.” He smiled and held out the book, “With presents.”  
  
“You’re not allowed to leave again.” Emma ordered him.  
  
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Pinocchio smiled. He waved over her shoulder, “Hey, Alex.”  
  
Alexandra looked torn between laughing and rolling her eyes, “You look like you’ve got something dead clinging to your face.”  
  
“Hey, it’s manly!” Pinocchio whined in protest, rubbing at his chin, “Don’t you think so, Emma?”  
Emma looked up at him and smiled, “Very. I like it.”  
  
“See? Princess likes it.” Pinocchio stuck his tongue out at Alexandra and made both girls laugh.  
  


* * *

  
"Okay, they’re going to be all nice and sweet and polite and ‘welcome to the family’," Red said, gesturing towards the castle as she glared at Pinocchio, "but let’s get a few things straight first. I’m a wood cutter’s Grandkid. You’re a living puppet. You hurt Emma ever, no matter how you do it, and you’re gonna be firewood. Understood?" Red’s eyes were lit up and fluctuating between gold and back to normal again.

Pinocchio swallowed hard and nodded, “Yes, Ma’am.” He loved Emma, there was no way he’d screw this up ever.

Red nodded and smiled, “Good, “she tugged him into a hug. “Welcome to the family, sweetheart!”  
  
“Thanks.” Pinocchio let her take his hand and lead him back inside where everyone waited.  
  


* * *

  
"No’co," Emma whined, looking towards the door from her spot laying across the bed where she’d just gotten comfortable.

"That name stopped working when we got married, dear." Pinocchio yelled back to her.

"If that were true we wouldn’t have kids." Emma muttered and rubbed her stomach lightly, smiling when the baby inside decided to kick at her hand instead of her bladder. "Please?"

"I’m not going to the kitchens at this time of night." He stuck his head back into the room and gave her a serious look.

"It’s not for me." She whined, gesturing to her swollen stomach with her other hand, "He’s got cravings." Emma tried to look pitiful, sticking out her lower lip and sniffling.

"Let me guess, for hot chocolate and cinnamon?" Pinocchio sighed and sat on the side of the bed, resting his hand on her stomach as well.

"He’s got good taste."Emma replied impishly.  
  



	5. King's deal

  
"You’re not supposed to be here."

Emma turned to see the man talking to her, “DA Spencer, right?”

"Actually, I prefer ‘King George’." He stepped forward, examining her.

"Oh, right…David’s dad?" Emma tried to recall Henry’s story.

"James’ dad." He corrected. His eyes were narrowed and she felt like she was beneath a microscope,

"You aren’t supposed to be alive."

"Believe it or not that’s not the first time I’ve heard that."

"How are you alive?"

"Because my parents love each other and apparently don’t know protection?" Emma shrugged, "Hell if I want to know."

"Your mother wasn’t supposed to have children." George continued, "I made sure she couldn’t and I know you aren’t that mutt’s child. So how. do. you. exist?" He enunciated in annoyance.

"I. Don’t. Know." Emma mimicked him in irritation.

"Just as obstinate as him I see," George sighed in disgust, "All he had to do was marry Abigail, produce and heir and die. Was it that hard?"

"Die?" Emma questioned, watching him carefully and slowly backing away.

"He wasn’t my son but his child would be as James’." George agreed, "He would die, I would have James’ son and as added incentive my grandson would be heir to two kingdoms." George paused, "You are heir to two kingdoms, and James’ daughter."

"I’m David’s daughter," Emma corrected, hands in her pockets, trying to look unconcerned.

"Genetically you are James’ daughter." George reached out and touched one of her curls with his fingers, "You should have been his…he had curls too, as a child."

Emma took a step back and found her back against a wall, “I’m David’s.”

"If you say so," George brushed her words off, "But you’re more James than David."

"What do you want from me?" Emma said finally.

George watched her for a moment, “To talk.”

"Talk?"

"Yes."

Emma studied him but didn’t find a lie. She’d already pissed off most the strong or ‘evil’ people in the town, it wouldn’t due to piss one off for reasons someone else held. Plus she could always walk away.

"Fine. Let’s talk."

"Not here, somewhere else." George held his arm out to her.

* * *

 

He took her to some where back alley pub she hadn’t had the privileged of seeing before and kept silent till they were seated. “You’d be pampered, suites of your own, servants tending to your every whim, lessons on everything you could ever need to learn.” George listed, finger tracing the rim of his glass.

"Yeah? I know my parents would have gone overboard." Emma brushed his words off, ignoring the ache they caused.

"Not with your parents." George said sharply, inhaling before he spoke again, "At my castle. Where you’d belong. Away from them."

"Why would I belong with you?" Emma asked cautiously, taking a sip of her water.

"Because you don’t belong with a mutt, a fake and a runaway thief, you belong with your Grandfather in the home your true Father grew in."

Emma resisted the urge to hit him for the word ‘mutt’.”True father?”

"David would never have produced you had he not taken James’ place. James is your true father." George insisted.

Emma just watched him for a moment, "Tell me about him."

David didn’t know much about James, if anything, maybe something good would come from today.

"James was the strongest warrior in all the kingdoms, the bravest soldier and the most dedicated son," George said with a proud grin, "There was no beast he could not best and no obstacle he could not overcome. There was nothing my boy couldn’t do."

"Oh?" Emma looked down at her water and then back up at George, feeling she might need something stronger, "What was he like?"

"You." George said simply.

"What?" Emma stared at him in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting that answer.

"Proud, strong, noble, brave beyond a fault and wouldn’t let anything go if it was against his wishes."

By the fifth story of James’ heroism Emma had switched to beer and George was starting to reach ‘tipsy’. “I don’t mean heroics, though I admit besting a chimera had to be grand,” Emma said, “What was he like when he was young?”

"Young?"

"Before he was a warrior, what was he?" Emma wished she could ask these questions of her other Grandparents, to know more of her parents when they were young, but that was impossible. The best she could do was gather stories of her uncle for her father.

"A very puckish little boy with sticky hands."

* * *

  
"Then one time," George laughed, "He got away from his minder. Four years old and he’s already past her. By time we realized he was in the banquet hall he’d already reached up, seized a dish of honey and upended it over his head!"

"Oh, no." Emma giggled and realized she should probably cut back on the drinking, "What’d you do?"

"My wife leaps to her feet, grabs him and he just smiles, licks his hand goes ‘Mama, I taste good!’." George wiped his eyes, "Took him four baths to get all the mess off."

-

"We looked all over, could not find James anywhere," George waved his hand, "I have Knights out searching for him, no use."

"Where’d you find him?"

"James had decided in the middle of the night he wanted to see his new horse so he’d snuck down and fell asleep in the stables so he could be near him. He was only ten so I couldn’t punish him too harshly," George smiled at the memory, "He loved that horse, took care of it all on his own, refused help from others. Called it ‘Leviathan’."

* * *

 

Emma groaned and shifted, finding herself not in her bed or the nest but instead on a couch under someone’s coat. What happened? She remembered drinking and stories and more drinking then..oh, helping George home. She sat up, protesting the movement with a whimper and blinked to clear her eyes. She tried not to rub at them, painfully aware she’d left her contacts in and hoped desperately she’d called home.

She found her phone and keys sitting on the coffee table next to her and her boots on the floor placed nicely. Emma fought back another groan at her hangover as she checked the time on her phone. Seven am, she had thirty minutes to get home, get changed and get to the station or she could just shower and change into spare clothes at the station…That sounded better than questioning, but would probably turn out worse in the long run. She tugged on her boots, tucked her things into her pockets and hurried out the door. She’d check her phone later.

* * *

  
Emma took the route home that took her directly past Game of Thorns, hoping the scent of flowers would rub off enough so that Red wouldn’t notice anything amiss. It was just 7:15, if she hurried she’d have enough time to shower and change before work.  
Just her luck, all three of her parents were still up and moving around the apartment when she got home.

"Where have you been?" Snow demanded angrily, clearly worried.

"Out." Emma said, tossing her jacket over the couch and tugging her boots off. "Sorry."

"You miss dinner, stay out all night and all you have is ‘sorry’?" Charming looked incredulous.

"Yup." Emma emptied her pockets out onto the counter and looked around, "Henry?"

"Still asleep, we’re in the process of waking him up but you weren’t here—"

"I got it." Emma hurried up the stairs, two at a time and nearly slid on the top step. She entered the loft and pulled back the curtain that separated her ‘room’ from Henry’s, finding him sprawled and sleeping on his bed, hand dangling off the side of it.

"Hey," Emma leaned down and tickled his neck, getting a grumble and a twitch in reply, "Time to wake up, Henry. You won’t have time for breakfast before school if you don’t get up."

"Unh…Mom?" Henry opened his eyes slightly, "You came home."

"Course I did." Emma brushed his hair away from his face and smiled.

"You didn’t last night."

"Ah, I got caught up on a secret mission." Emma told him conspiringly, "Operation Dragon."

"Operation Dragon?" He rubbed at his eyes, "Whas that?"

"My secret mission you can’t know about yet. Get up though, okay? I’m going to go steal the shower." She dug into her drawers, grabbing an outfit for the day and hurried back down the stairs, listening to him starting to move around behind her.

Emma nearly slid on the tiles, waving a hand at her parents as she stole the downstairs bathroom, turning the shower on and ignoring anyone outside.

By time she exited, dressed and swapped her contacts for glasses - much to her discontentment - Henry was up, dressed, fed and walking to the schoolbus. While they had their issues, Regina got to walk him to School some mornings of the week from the Diner. She was watched the whole time, but both seemed to appreciate it.

Emma sat down at the counter, tugging her boots on and looked up in bemusement when Snow almost slammed a plate of toast down in front of her. “What’s your problem?” Emma asked, ears ringing a little from her hangover the Tylenol hadn’t quite fully gotten rid of yet.

"My problem?" Snow snapped irritably, "My problem is my daughter decided to miss dinner, not answer her phone, stay out all night and then just come waltzing in on some walk-of-shame without any answers reeking of flowers and booze!"

Emma looked back towards the couch where Red sat looking grumpy and rubbing her nose. Flowers worked then? Neat. “Not a ‘walk-of-shame’ if you have nothing to be ashamed about.” she finished lacing up her boots, smiled brightly and grabbed one of the pieces of toast, holding it in her teeth as she put her things back in her pockets, “I always preferred ‘stride-o-pride’ or ‘just-touched-a-butt-strut’.” Emma said, mouth full.

"Emma." Charming glared warningly at her.

"Sorry, gotta run," She swallowed the toast that was in her mouth and pulled on her jacket, "work calls!"

 

* * *

 

Emma leaned back in her chair, feet up on her desk and closed her eyes. Her headache had been made moderately better by coffee, time and lots of Tylenol but it was still there.

How much had she drank? Last thing she remembered was rum and some story about how James learned to swordfight.

She desperately wanted more coffee and a nap, but she was out of coffee in the office and a nap was out of the question when you were sole sheriff. Charming was definitely not inclined to help her out and seemed to be sulking in the main area at his desk.

She had nearly dozed off when her phone started buzzing in her pocket, alerting her to a text.

"K.G.?" she questioned to herself then blinked. Oh, King George.

_'Sorry about last night, seems we drank too much. Thank you for making sure I returned home.'_

_'No problem,'_ Emma shot back, _'it's my job.'_

_'Still, let me make it up to you; buy you dinner and we can talk more?'_

Emma paused, looking down at her phone. She’d realized last night that George had two things in common with her: 1) he was lonely, something she’d been desperately for years and 2) He was mourning the loss of a son no one else knew.

He’d lost his son, only to be forced to replace him with an identical replicate, seeing his baby day after day but knowing painfully it wasn’t him. Emma had been forced to give her son away, never knowing if she’d see him again.

That didn’t mean she forgave him for whatever it was he did that pissed her parents off so much and she had yelled at him for calling her Mama a ‘mutt’ several times but…

_'Can't do dinner tonight, parent's might freak. Breakfast tomorrow?'_

It took less than thirty seconds to get a reply back, _‘Deal.’_

"Who you talking to?" Charming questioned, eying his daughter from the doorway.

"Someone." Emma tucked her phone away, aware that Charming probably wouldn’t approve. She’d have to ask what their issue was with George. As it was the man…irked her, but he had interesting stories at least and somehow pissing him off without knowing all his motives seemed like a bad idea.  
He was aiming for something, she was sure, and until she knew for sure what it was she could play along.  
"What do you need?" She continued.

"It’s lunchtime." Charming gestured to the clock, "Figured we could go to the diner, if you’re not super busy being secretive."

The pouting tone was so like Henry she had to smile, “Yeah, I could really use some coffee.”

* * *

  
Emma got dressed quietly in the dark, leaving her boots off until she was outside the bedroom and the apartment. It was just starting to reach dawn, not even six yet, but if she wanted to meet George without anyone finding out then she had to leave early to her distaste.  
She somehow miraculously avoided waking anyone and got outside without anyone being aware.

They couldn’t meet at the diner, but George had mentioned some other little place, one of those that most didn’t go to because Granny’s was better.

-

"Sorry it’s not quite as ‘nice’ as Granny’s," George said, holding her seat out for her, "But one makes do when you have a grudge held against you."

"Thank you," Emma said obligingly and sat down, letting him scoot the chair back in before he sat on the other side. "Why does Granny hold a grudge against you?"

George sighed, opening his napkin and placing it on his lap perfectly, “I tried to point out how dangerous her Grandchild was on Wolfsnight without her cloak and she tried to shoot me. Here, that is, while you were gone.”

"But she found her cloak and was safe," Emma pointed out, placing her own napkin on her lap.

"Yes, but not until the second night."

"No one got hurt," Emma brushed it off.

"Well, there was a murder she was accused of." George tapped his fingers together, "They never did prove who did it but…"

"Why didn’t anyone tell me that? I’m the sheriff." Emma nearly growled.

"I don’t know," George said simply, "But maybe they didn’t trust you with the information?"

Emma shook her head, “Maybe it slipped their minds…”

"Maybe. Try their eggs Benedict," George suggested when the waiter came over, "They’re brilliant."

* * *

  
"Quick question," Emma leaned against the door to the apartment, "Am I or am I not sheriff elected by the people of this town?"

"Where have you been? We woke up and you were gone." Charming started.

Emma made a noise to shush him, “Not the question. Am I or am I not sheriff.” She repeated.

"Yes, of course, Emma-" Snow started only to be cut off.

"Then why is it I have to hear from a citizen and not from my un-appointed at the time deputy or even another member of my family that there was a murder while I was gone?" She watched their faces carefully. Henry looked down into his cereal guiltily, Red paled and bit her thumb nail, Charming crossed his arms across his chest and even Snow looked guilty.

"It was dealt with." Charming said, trying to sound authoritative.

"Then why isn’t the killer in jail?" Emma questioned.

"I…couldn’t exactly prove who had done it, but we all have a fair idea."

"An idea doesn’t cut it," Emma stuck her hands in her pockets, matching his tone, "If you have something done like that you search till you could prove what happened."

"We were a little distracted trying to get you two home." Red said.

"We got ourselves home," Emma countered, "Now, I get to go have fun at work trying to find out what else you three," she shot a look at Henry, "decided to hide from me and ask around to find what didn’t get put into the files."

* * *

  
"Emma—"

"Unless you’re here to apologize and detail to me everything you ‘forgot’ to put into file form while I was gone you can save it," Emma brushed off Charming as she sat at her desk, digging through files, "Seems nearly everything while I was gone is incomplete or missing. You’d think that means calm but from what I hear we had a rampaging zombie, a man got his arm torn off, a few angry mobs, Red nearly getting lynched, Granny shooting people and at least one murder." Emma said angrily, closing her current file and opening a new one, "Care to tell me why as Sheriff I wasn’t made aware of that?"

Charming sighed, “It was dealt with —”

"NO, it wasn’t!" Emma finally looked up angrily, "You brushed it aside and no one was ever even reprimanded. There are no files, no charges, no information, just second hand accounts I can only get by asking directly of people. Some Sheriff you were." She put her head into her hands, resting her elbows on her desk. She could feel a pulsing headache starting behind her eyes and realized creating a rift like this was probably part of George’s master plan but at the same time it was all things she should have known anyway.  
All things they should have trusted her enough to tell her.

"I didn’t come to argue," Charming tried the dad voice but Emma waved him off.

"Just go." Emma said simply, "I’ve got to get this all sorted out and you’re not helping my headache."

"Emma,"

"Go." she repeated firmly, pointing at the door.

* * *

  
"Why did you want me to find all of that?" Emma asked George, sitting down across from him at the little breakfast place she’d met him at before.

She’d been researching, gathering information and figuring out files and actions for two days, sleeping mostly at her office.  
She’d sent Charming home both days or out on patrol because she couldn’t sort out his mess and deal with the kicked puppy act at the same time.  
She missed her family, and being at home, but it hurt they hadn’t told her. Obviously they’d told Snow.

"You’re the Sheriff," George said simply, waving the waiter over to give their order, "You deserve to know what goes on in your town."

"You’re right, I do." Emma nodded. She stayed quiet while George rattled off an order for both of them, "And most times I do know. Right now, I know there is something you’re not telling me." Emma kept her tone calm, her face placid, "You have something you want from me and I want to know what it is."

"Your help." He replied, giving up the partial charade, "In getting what I want."

"And what is it you want?" Emma questioned, leaning against the table with her forearms.

He leaned in much like she had,”Power.” The word was stated simply, but with force.

Neither noticed the woman watching them intently from across the street.

* * *

  
Regina knocked on the door to the apartment ‘those idiots’ shared. She didn’t come here often, or at all really, unless it was with Henry or to visit him.

She was trying to be better, to be a mom who deserved Henry which meant playing nicely. So far it had earned her the right to walk him to the bus stop from the diner, take him to lunch on Saturday, an invitation to Sunday dinners and an upcoming sleepover weekend.

Regina wasn’t going to let Emma’s actions stop that.

"Regina?" Snow asked in concern when she opened the door,"Henry’s at school."

"I know that," Regina brushed it off, "May I come in?"

"Yes, um, yeah." Snow stepped back to let Regina in and shut the door behind her.

Regina looked around, finding Red stretched out on the couch but slowly sitting up and Charming in the kitchen washing dishes. She took a breath, considered how to say it then just nearly blurted out, “Your daughter is cavorting with the enemy.”

Snow made a face and Charming let the pan drop into the sink.

"Listen, Regina," He said, wiping his hands on the dish towel, "Whatever you two get up to is your business and I don’t—"

"Not me you twit." Regina snapped, "Your father."

"My…what? George?"

"How the hell does she know George?" Red demanded, standing from the sofa.

"I’m sure I don’t know." When all three just looked at her she sighed, "We’re not exactly on speaking terms at the moment due to reasons I don’t feel like getting into. It’s not like we were ever friends so much as…allies against a common enemy."

"Gee, thanks." Snow said dryly.

Regina lifted one shoulder in a half shrug, “But your daughter is now with him and I refuse to become good only for her to go and join the dark side.”

"Are you looking out for her?" Charming asked in surprise.

"I’m looking out for my interests and if they happen to coincide with your interests it’s not my problem." Regina was verging on sulky but kept her face calm. "Now, what are you going to do about this?"

"Talk to her." Red said, pulling out her phone and dialing Emma.

* * *

  
"How exactly am I supposed to help you get power?" Emma asked, sitting back a little and toying with the rim of her coffee cup.

"You’re not only the Sheriff, you’re the savior. Beyond that?" George smiled again, a genuine one that she had to try not to flinch against, "You’re heir to two kingdoms and my Granddaughter."

She didn’t bother correcting him that time, “So what’s your master plan? I convince everyone to let you take over?” she asked sarcastically.

"Not exactly," George tilted his head in acknowledgment, "More…You make sure that certain people are out of the way so I can make the moves necessary to place myself back in power."

"And by getting them out of the way you mean…" She felt rage bubble inside but suppressed it.

"Whatever you think is best." George smiled again.

"Where does my son fit into this master plan of yours?" Emma looked him in the eye, watching to make sure of any lies.

George made a face and sighed heavily, “To be honest he doesn’t really beyond being your son. I don’t think he’d be a very fitting Prince but I’m sure we could work around that. I’m certain we could make him into a fine Knight, one who would defend a new heir.”

"A new heir?" Emma questioned, trying not to make a face.

"Well, I may rule for a long time and you with me, but eventually a new generation must take over," George said with something almost like nostalgia, "One that’s trained to do so. One with James’ blood."

"So who do you suggest the ‘new heir’s’ father be?" Emma looked down and realized she’d accidentally shredded her napkin into confetti.

"Oh, we’ll find someone fitting. Another strong warrior like James, but that’s not for some time. We need to take control and get home first." George pointed out.

Emma placed the now shredded napkin on the table and scooted her seat back. She couldn’t do as she wanted, which was stand up and punch him because she couldn’t risk gaining another enemy, not now and not here. “May I have a little while to think about it? I haven’t slept properly in days and I’m sure you don’t want a hasty answer.”

"Of course." George stood when she did, "I’m sure you’ll make the right decision," he assured her, stepping forward and pulling her into a light hug. He kissed her cheek and stepped back, smiling brightly at her, "You sound more and more like James everytime we speak."

Emma just smiled back, walking away fast and resisting the urge to be sick.

* * *

  
She ignored her phone ringing, not really wanting to deal with her parents at the moment, but sort of really wanting a hug from her Mom and assurances that she wasn’t like her Uncle - the stories she’d heard were somewhat scary when compared to - and she was close enough to the apartment they could just talk there if they needed to.

She climbed the steps, feeling all the time spent awake in the last few days and just desperately wanting to sleep for a little while.  
She opened the apartment door and found herself looking at not just her parents, but at Regina as well.

"If you’re here to remind me Henry’s sleeping over this weekend I haven’t forgot," Emma said tiredly, kicking her boots off at the door and hanging up her jacket.

"That’s not exactly my reason for coming, but it is something I feel the need to remind you about."

"Hmm," Emma yawned, "Well, unless you’re here to start some weird war or murder someone it can wait. I’m exhausted."

"Emma," Snow said from her seat on the couch, "We need to talk."

"Can it wait?" Emma was aware of how whiny she sounded, even as she crossed and lay down on the couch, head on Snow’s lap, “‘m tired."

Snow’s hands automatically went to Emma’s hair, brushing it away from her face as Emma wrapped her arm around Snow, “I—, Charming?” She said, resolve to talk failing in the face of her daughter cuddling up to her willingly.

"I…" Charming still felt the effects of Emma yelling at him, of him lying to her, "I guess we could talk later but…"

Red shrugged as well, watching Emma curiously.

"You’re all weak," Regina said with amazement. "Miss Swan why are you talking with King George?" Regina demanded.

Emma barely registered the question in her sleep deprived state. Snow’s hands were playing with her hair and she was finally relaxed enough to sleep, “‘cause he’s ‘m granfather,” Emma mumbled against Snow’s stomach, “Says so.”

Snow’s hands stilled for a moment and pain shot through her chest before she continued her motions, aware Emma had slipped under into sleep.

* * *

  
"Emma? Emma, sweetheart, it’s time for dinner."

Emma groaned and rubbed at her eyes, trying to brush away the intrusion that was dragging her for sleep. “Come on, you’ve slept most of the day.”

She opened her eyes and found Snow smiling down at her, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

"Huh? Wha’s wrong?" Emma sat up and Snow backed up enough to let her.

"Nothing," Snow smiled again, "Come on, we made hamburgers and curly fries."

Emma narrowed her eyes slightly at Snow’s back. Something was wrong, something was…different. Plus was that a bribe of one of her favorite meals?

"Come sit by me, please, mom?" Henry whined, shifting in his chair and looking anxious.

She had missed most meals the last two days, maybe this was because they’d lied to her? "Sure, kid."

-

Dinner was mostly quiet, with Henry providing almost all of the conversation until finally someone else spoke up.

"Why are you talking with George?" Red blurted out, not thinking really.

"Huh?" Emma blinked, trying to think of where that had come from, "Why?"

"George?" Henry looked concerned, "Like ‘King George’?"

"Yeah, I guess." Emma answered. "Why does it matter?"

"He’s evil and mean." Henry told her shortly. "He tried to frame Gran for murder!"

"When?"

"While you were gone." Henry continued, unaware he might have just started a fire from coals again.

"You mean the murder everyone tried to hide from the Sheriff?" Emma asked lightly, picking at her food.

Henry turned pink and looked down at his plate.

"You shouldn’t be talking to him," Charming said, "No good will come of it."

"Well, he’s already informed me of most of what went on in town while I was gone," Emma said honestly, "So it seems like lately he’s the only one not lying in some way." It was true, George, while an ass that she really didn’t care for, was completely honest about his motives.

"We didn’t lie," Charming said quickly, "We—"

"Decided as a group not to tell me something that was actually rather important both to my job and to my family and chose instead to tell my mother while keeping it from me." Emma summed up, "Yeah, I know."

"He’s trying to use you," Henry said.

"I know." Emma replied.

"You know? Then why are you still around him?" Charming nearly growled at the thought of his child being near his pseudo-father.

"He’s…darkly entertaining and I told him I’d think about his offer." Emma said, not really feeling the need or want to share.

"What was his offer?" Snow asked quietly.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!" Charming yelled, hand hitting the table angrily, "I won’t have you talking with that man."

"Why not?" Emma challenged, "You know what I’ve heard of him up till now from you? Nothing." Emma said once Charming went quiet. "I’ve heard nothing about him from any of you, just second hand comments from others stating that he was James’ father and that he was an ally of Regina’s. So tell me, David, why shouldn’t I go near one of the few surviving grandparents I have?" She didn’t like George on a whole, but getting them riled up was a surefire way of getting them to talk.

Charming was turning red, hands gripping into fists so tight his hands were turning white.

"Henry, go upstairs please." Red said softly, "You can take your plate."

"But I—"

"Go." Red told him, "Please."

Henry sighed but grabbed his plate and drink, heading up the stairs to the loft.

Once the door shut Red reached over and put her hand over Charming’s, trying to calm him a little though she felt the same inside, “You want to know about George?” Charming said finally, voice strained, “We’ll tell you about George.”

—

"He took me in, yes, made me a Prince," Charming started, "But to do that he ripped away everything I had. They took me from my mother, my life. They took my name from me, my identity and tried to mold me into the image of a dead brother I never knew I had. A brother he had bought through Rumpelstiltskin. When I fulfilled my end of our bargain, he pulled me in deeper. He tried to force a marriage between myself and Princess Abigail and when I baulked he threatened that if I didn’t marry her he’d kill me and kill my mother." Charming took a breath, steadying himself. "He threatened to kill Snow, he forced her to break my heart and it turned both of us into people we weren’t."

"He took me," Snow said, "Once Charming and I were together again, he had Lancelot kidnap me and once in his possession he poisoned me. A curse to make sure I would never have children." Snow said, voice trembling just a little and tears starting in her eyes even as Red reached over and took her hand.

"That’s what he meant." Emma murmured to herself.

"What?" Red asked.

"He said I wasn’t supposed to exist, you weren’t supposed to have children and he’d made sure you couldn’t." Emma thought over George’s words and frowned, "Obviously he was wrong."

"No, he managed it." Snow said bitterly, "Lancelot took me and ran, he didn’t know that was what George’s plan was, and we met up with Charming at his mother’s cabin."

"We’d been attacked by George’s men, though, and my mother shot." Charming continued the story, "We searched for a way to heal her and found some water left, enough for one person, that could heal any injury. She…She pretended to drink it then made Lancelot give it to Snow, so that we could have you." Charming told her, eyes closed tight against tears, "She gave her life for you."

"He wanted me dead, he wanted me gone and he didn’t care how it happened," Red distracted from Charming, "He took my cloak and hid it, then convinced the town I was a murderous monster by killing Billy. You remember him?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded, trying to absorb everything.

"He killed him with a hatchet and made it look like I had done it. They formed a mob and nearly killed me." Red told her, voice shaky as Snow’s had been. "And we’re not even getting into the dozens of random murder attempts on all three of us that happened over the years."

"What was his offer to you?" Snow asked finally, wiping at the few tears that had fallen and looking at Emma.

"Power." Emma said simply.

"Power?" Charming repeated, "What do you mean ‘Power’."

“‘Rule the world and everyone in it’ Power.” Emma sat back in her chair, tapping her fingers on her thigh, “I told him I’d think about it.”

"You’re not seriously going to, are you?"

Emma just shrugged. It was hard, absorbing everything at once and she felt the need to run, to just get away and stop thinking for just a little while. Everything around her was just getting so complicated.

Why couldn’t things be simple for a little while?

She stood up, ignoring whatever Charming had said and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Out." Emma said blankly, "I just…out."

* * *

  
"Are you starting a new trend or just an idiot?"

Emma looked up to see Regina cross to walk next to her. “What?”

"Walking outside in winter without shoes or a jacket," Regina looked pointedly down at Emma’s socked feet, "Maybe you did inherit the idiot gene."

"Why are you here, Regina?" Emma asked tiredly.

"Your parents called me." Regina admitted, "Since our interests line up for once and currently your mother is crying too hard to come after you." Regina paused and smiled almost wryly, "Congratulations on breaking your mother’s heart when I couldn’t."

Emma didn’t respond to the dig, just kept walking with her eyes fixed ahead, shoulders hunched and her hands in her jean pockets.

Regina stared at Emma in shock. She didn’t like the woman most days, had no reason to want her around and had tried to kill her once but…where was the fun in insulting someone if they didn’t even insult you back?

"You’re going to catch your death of cold if you’re anything like Henry." Regina remarked, hoping to at least get Emma talking. "I assume he inherited his issues with chest colds from you."

"Probably." Emma said monotonously. Why was everything just piling in her brain. What they’d said, what he’d said and everything kept coming back around in circles.

"Here." Regina stopped her and slipped off her coat, standing in the chill in a turtleneck sweater and extending her coat to Emma.

"Regina-"

"Take it before I make you wear it. Henry would be mad if he knew I let you get sick."

Emma sighed but pulled the coat on, relishing the warmth she hadn’t realized she was missing. “Thanks.”

"Not much I can do about your shoes." Regina looked down and bit back a smirk at the white socks covered in tiny pink hearts.

"I’ve been shoeless in winter before," Emma brushed her off, "I’ll be fine."

"Ah. Feel like telling me exactly how you managed what I’ve spent years trying to do in one day?"

"No idea what you mean. I left they were fine." Emma tucked her cold hands into the pockets of Regina’s coat, trying not to mess with anything inside them.

"Hmm, well on the phone she was crying and I’m nearly certain that Red was as well. Charming certainly sounded close enough."

Emma walked quietly for a few minutes, trying to ignore Regina beside her then sighed and turned to face the older woman, “George offered me a deal, I told them he’d offered me something, they detailed why he was evil and I walked off to clear my head.”

"Did you tell them why you left?"

"No." Emma shook her head.

"Idiot." Regina said in exasperation. "What did George offer you?"

"Does it matter?" Emma asked.

"Yes." Regina looked at her with concern, "George isn’t someone I want around my son. He’s a good ally in war but a horrible person in general. If you are around him I don’t want Henry to be."

"Don’t worry, he holds no interest in Henry…and he’s my son." Emma countered.

"Ours then," Regina said in annoyance and gestured for Emma to continue, "What deal did he have for you?"

"Answer me a question first." Emma said solemnly, looking at Regina with consideration. "You knew George, but did you ever know James? The real James."

"We were…acquainted." Regina said after a moment, "Not for long, but we did know each other."

Emma bit her tongue to keep from asking the question she really did desperately want an answer to. “George wants me to get rid of my Parents however I see fit so that he can take over with my help. I’m the heir to two kingdoms and James’ daughter which makes me his grandchild and obviously I was meant to be raised by him to rule.” Emma repeated George’s words dispassionately.

"You’re David’s daughter," Regina corrected, clearly wondering about Emma’s sanity, "There’s no way Snow would have ever let James near her."

"Identical twins, identical DNA. James and David could both claim me." Emma said simply, remembering her high school courses from before she dropped out. "George said that David may have created me, but James is my True Father because if it weren’t for James, Snow and David would never have met."

"Please tell me you don’t actually believe that." Regina looked pointedly at Emma.

"No, but it’s there." Emma rubbed the side of her head, "Can’t days just be calm and quiet without the looming specter of evil on the horizon and people losing their shit over stupid things?"

"Unfortunately it seems not." Regina crossed her arms, her right hand holding onto her left wrist. "Are you considering George’s offer?"

"No." Emma shook her head, "I know he’s full of shit, but he does hold some…affection for me. He says I look and act just like James." she admitted, voice small.

Regina scoffed, “Please. You look just like your mother and you act like the noble idiots she married.” Regina looked sideways at Emma and her mouth almost fell open in shock, “You believe him?”

"Maybe…I don’t…"

"Don’t." Regina said shortly, "James was an idiot, a spoiled little boy playing soldier and doing whatever he could for his own benefit. He slept with whoever would have him, stole from those who would willingly have given him anything he wanted and left his own lover to die a horrible death." Regina spoke with conviction, "the ONLY redeeming feature about the man was the fact he could best any beast he came up against…well, until the Brute."

"Really?"

"Yes." Regina rubbed her arms lightly against the cold. It was darkening out, night falling already. "If we must talk will you at least assent to doing it indoors where we won’t freeze?"

"Where?" Emma asked, "I can’t go to Granny’s right now, not for this."

Regina sighed and tapped her fingers on her watch, “Any complaints at my home?”

"I…not really. You won’t hurt me because it would hurt Henry." Emma said.

"Gee, thank you for the vote of confidence. See if I share my coat with you again." Regina muttered, gaining a slight smile from Emma.

* * *

  
Emma snuck into the house just after one am, feeling much better about her choices regarding George, her actions about James and overall outlook but she felt horrible about having upset her parents. She crept upstairs, wishing feeling back into her feet and trying not to look back at her parents bed where all three were curled up asleep.

She dug into her dresser and pulled out a pair of cotton pants and an oversized t-shirt she’d stolen from Charming to change into. Emma sat down on the edge of her bed, debating instinct verse rational thought.

After five minutes of sitting in the dark and the quiet she took a breath and opened the door, quietly descending the stairs and moving across the floor to stand on her mother’s side of the bed, They were all still sleeping and she realized it was probably stupid the moment she reached out and touched Snow’s hand. But before she could back up or change her mind Snow’s fingers curled around hers and her eyes opened.

"I can’t sleep." Emma whispered, stomach cold and throat a little tight, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Snow immediately shifted on the bed and lifted the covers so Emma could climb under them.

"I’m sorry," Emma mumbled, head resting against Snow’s chest. "I’m really sorry."

"It’s okay." Snow murmured, wrapping her arms tight around Emma as her daughter clung to her, "It’s okay." she repeated, brushing Emma’s hair with her fingers.

* * *

  
Emma awoke hours later to people talking nearby. She was alone in bed, but didn’t feel the need to move from the warm safe spot that was her parents bed.

"-won’t tell us what they talked about." Charming said quietly.

"She apologized," Snow sounded upset again and Emma frowned.

Emma tried to move, stretching out her legs and groaned when her muscles protested. She was now acutely aware of how her feet hurt. Walking all over town barefoot bar socks in the cold had not been a good idea. The talking instantly stopped and she heard footsteps heading towards her.

"Ow." she complained, pulling her feet back up under the covers and reaching down to touch one experimentally.

"Are you okay?" Snow asked cautiously.

Emma opened her eyes and looked up, disliking the look on her mother’s face. “I’m an idiot and forgot my shoes when I left last night.” Emma admitted, “My feet hurt.”

"I’ll get you some Tylenol," Snow looked like she wanted to reach out and touch Emma but pulled back last minute and turned away to go find what she’d promised.

"There’s coffee on," Charming said, sounding just as cautious.

"Thanks." Emma sat up completely and pulled the covers back, wincing a little at the cold and examined her feet. They looked fine, probably just sore, she decided, putting them on the ground to test her theory.

Pressing down hurt, but it wasn’t going to kill her so she gave in and made her way into the kitchen, ignoring the slight limp she developed and dug into the cupboards for a coffee mug.

"Do you want breakfast?" Charming asked, leaning against the counter, "I could make something or we could go to the diner or…"

"Maybe in a bit." Emma dug into the fridge for milk and poured some into her coffee, careful to leave enough behind for Henry’s cereal. "Thanks though," She added softly, stirring in sugar.

"Here," Snow held out her hand and dropped two of the white pills into Emma’s, "You’re not late for work or anything. Regina just stopped by to make sure you’d made it home and then she and Red walked to the Diner with Henry." Snow said quickly, glancing up at the clock.

"Thanks," Emma smiled slightly, not sure what was wrong still.

"Your uh, your phone’s been going off." Charming gestured to where it sat on the counter. "I don’t know who because it’s locked…not that I checked." Charming said quickly.

Emma swallowed the pills quickly with her coffee and picked it up, aware she’d left it upstairs last night but not really wanting to question it.

She watched them out of the corner of her eye pointedly look away or pretend not to be paying attention when she typed in her 4 digit code.

One missed call from Regina, two texts from George.

_'Need to talk to you about our deal'_

_'Meet me @ Breakfast place?'_

Emma closed her eyes, thinking about it. All she really wanted right now was a hug, assurances from someone other than Regina that she wasn’t like James and pancakes at the Diner that she hadn’t been to in several days.

Might as well get it over with though, tell him now that he could go to hell and be done with him. She’d gotten what she wanted from him.

 _'Be there in 20.'_ She shot back, relocked her phone and set it back down. “I've got to go get dressed,” She told Snow and Charming with genuine regret, “Can you cover for me at work if I'm not there by eight?” She asked Charming.

"I..yeah, sure, Emma—"

"Thanks." Emma smiled at him and hurried up the stairs as fast as her feet would let her.

* * *

  
"Emma," George stood when she entered and smiled at her, greeting her with that same partial hug and kiss on the cheek that made her skin crawl, "I took the liberty of ordering for us both already."

Emma just nodded and sat down, looking at the plate with distaste. She couldn’t figure out what was good about Eggs Benedict, apparently they’d been a favorite of James.

She’d take pancakes any day.

"So, have you thought about what I said?" George asked, placing his napkin carefully on his lap.

"I have," Emma nodded. She had thought about it, it hadn’t left her mind, but not because she was actually considering it.

"Good! I was thinking we could start—"

"No."

"Excuse me?" he set his fork down and fixed her with a look that if she were any younger she would probably have flinched at.

"No." Emma repeated, "I’m not getting rid of my parents, I’m not getting you into control and I’m not your granddaughter." Emma stated, hands curling against the cuffs of her jacket sleeves.

"You are my granddaughter, you are James’-"

"My father’s name is David," Emma interrupted him fiercely.

"You’d rather claim to be the child of a Shepherd than of a Prince?" George was turning purple now.

"Yes." Emma agreed, "I’d rather be the child of an honest man than the child of a man who would abandon his own love to save stolen gold."

George stood, towering over her where she sat for a minute, “You will help me.”

"No, I won’t," Emma stood, ignoring the fact she had to look up to meet his eye and standing firm,

"Because you are nothing to me. If I have to I will arrest you, George."

"I am your Grandfather and you will obey me." He hissed, grabbing her arm.

She twisted away easily,”I have one living grandparent and she’s already threatened to put an arrow between your eyes.” Emma stepped back from him and closer to the door, “We’re done, George. Come near me or my family again and I’ll arrest you without question.” She told him seriously, opening the door and stepping out into the cool morning air.

* * *

  
Emma hesitated a little, standing across the street from the diner, trying to decide if she should go in or not. Snow would be at work, Charming was covering for her and Red was definitely at work. She was starving and cold and desperately wanted a hug which made no sense because she’d gone 28 years without physical contact like that so why was she craving it now every time that she got upset.

"Emma?"

Emma looked over and noticed Belle walking towards her with a smile. “Hi, Belle.”

"I was just on my way in to the Diner, care to join me?" Belle asked, automatically reaching out to grab Emma’s right arm like always.

Emma hissed out a breath and flinched away, “Ow.”

"Oh, sorry!" Belle said quickly, "I didn’t know you were hurt."

"I didn’t either." Emma inhaled and pulled up the sleeve of her jacket, revealed a large handprint bruise across her forearm, "Brilliant."

"Who did that?" Belle asked, tentatively reaching out and holding onto Emma’s wrist to examine it.

It was currently bright red with tinges of purple which meant within the next few hours it’d be a very bad looking bruise.

"Doesn’t matter," Emma told her, pulling her hand back and pulling her sleeve back down, "It’s over and dealt with."

"Your Mama is going to have a fit." Belle breathed out worriedly, linking her arm around Emma’s upperarm.

"Only if she sees it." Emma countered, trying not to think that maybe Red would just say she’d deserved it anyway.

"She’ll see it." Belle said pointedly.

There was no backing away, no hiding and no protests, Belle pulled her into the diner easily, talking the entire time about her newest book in an attempt to distract Emma.

"Red?" she called out, looking around and spotting the woman. With a smile she gestured to Emma, "Your girl needs an icepack."

"I don’t, I’m fine." Emma muttered, scuffing the toe of her right boot against the heel of her left boot in nervousness.

"What’s wrong?" Red asked, immediately at their side.

"I’m fine." Emma repeated, not wanting Red to think she was just being weak even as Belle tugged her sleeve up.

"Oh…Emma," Red winced and managed to look both angry and worried at once. "Um, go sit down, you two," She gestured to a table on the right side of the diner, "I’ll be right back with ice."

"That wasn’t necessary." Emma complained even as Belle led her to sit down.

"Yes it was." Belle took her jacket off and sat down across from Emma. "For one, that looks horribly painful and for two, you’ve had her upset all week. It’s time you two started playing nice again." Belle fixed Emma with an almost maternal glare.

"How do you think I got this?" Emma muttered, trying not to make any noises of pain when she pulled her jacket off, leaving her sitting in her short sleeved shirt. It did look fairly impressive and if she didn’t put ice on it the bruise was going to look worse but it was her own fault anyway.

"Here," Red sat down on the chair next to Emma and gestured for Emma to move her arm onto the table. Once it was sitting on the table Red placed the bag of ice wrapped in a dishtowel overtop of Emma’s arm, tucking it into place. She looked almost nervous still, underneath the anger and worry.

"Thanks," Emma said softly, shifting against the cold but leaving her arm where it was.

"No problem," Red replied without thinking. "Who grabbed you?"

"Does it matter?" Emma asked tiredly.

"Yes." Red nodded the paused and frowned. She got a look on her face that Emma recognized and she had to wince when she realized she’d forgotten to pass by Game of Thorns in an effort to rid herself of scents. "George." Red growled, eyes glinting gold for a moment before turning back to normal. "I’m going to kill him."

"You’re not." Emma told her.

"Then I’ll get David to arrest him." Red countered.

"It’s over and dealt with." Emma sighed.

"He’s not behind bars so it doesn’t count. Isn’t that what you yelled at us the other night?" Red said sulkily

"That was over a murder," Emma shook her head, "this is a simple case of assault in which the victim is refusing to press charges. That’s all."

"Well if that’s all," Red repeated sarcastically. She looked away for a moment, absently smoothing over the icepack. "Why’d he grab you? Thought you two were all buddy-buddy now."

"We were never buddy-buddy. We got drunk and he told some stories." Emma bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth for a moment before sighing, "I told him no on his offer."

"What?" Red turned to look at her.

"I told him ‘no’. I never intended to actually think about it, I just—"

Emma was cut off by Red hugging her tightly as best she could from the seat next to her.

"Thank you." Red said softly but with a big smile. "Right, no one comes to the diner just to socialize; what do you two want for breakfast?"

* * *

  
"Son of a bitch!" Emma exclaimed as she stuck the side of her hand on the plate for the 5th time.

Eating left handed sucked but Red wouldn’t let her take the icepack off and if she tried to use her right hand with it on it would just fall.

Belle giggled, covering her mouth with her left hand to try and hide it.

"It’s not funny." Emma complained, wiping syrup off with her mostly destroyed napkin.

"It really is." Belle disagreed.

Emma looked down mournfully at her breakfast, realizing she might have to forgo pancakes for something simpler and less messy to eat with her non-dominate hand.

She tried again, wondering exactly how eating with a fork could be so uncoordinated with the wrong hand and almost ended up sliding half her meal off her plate.

"Fuck it," she muttered in annoyance, "I’ll get a donut."

"You will not," Red stole the chair next to Emma again, this time taking her fork as well and her plate.

She quickly sliced all the pancake evenly before Emma could protest and speared a piece. “Say ‘ah’.” Red said, holding the fork up.

"I can feed myself." Emma whined, trying not to feel pleased.

"Apparently not. ‘Ah’." Red repeated with a serious look.

Belle wasn’t laughing, Red didn’t look mocking so Emma just gave in.

* * *

  
"Hey," Charming looked up when Emma entered the station, "Nice day?"

"Not really." Emma muttered, trying to figure out how to get her jacket off without exposing her arm or hurting it but found no easy way.

"What happened?" he demanded the moment he saw it.

"Disagreement. No, I’m not pressing charges." She warned him before he could say anything, "I already told Mama that."

Charming’s eyes lit up at Emma’s return to their titles instead of names but he frowned, “Who did it?”

"George." Emma knew Red would tell anyway, "I turned his offer down with prejudice."

"I still don’t know why you started talking to him." Charming grumbled, sitting back down onto his chair.

"For you." Emma said shortly.

"What?"

Emma sighed and sat down on the edge of Charming’s desk, “He said I was his grandkid, that I was like James and I realized you know nothing about James so…I sort of asked him to tell me about James.”

"Really?"

"My head is full of useless crap about how noble he was and how like me he was but I’ve also got childhood stories, if you’re interested." Emma offered tentatively, hoping to apologize for her actions the last few days.

"Of course!"

* * *

  
"Two-forty-five," Charming observed, looking up at the clock. He was sat on the couch, legs stretched out in front of him as Emma lay against his side.

It had been a calm quiet day without much interruptions from town so they’d spent the majority of it talking. Emma told him every story she’d heard of James and he finally told her from his point of view everything that had gone one while she and Snow were gone.

"Yeah?" Emma looked up as well.

"That’s a hint." Charming nudged her. "Your mother’s last class of the day is out for Gym leaving you no excuse not to go talk to her, apologize, tell her your decision and give her a hug."

"Dad…"

"Walk her home too." Charming added, "And stop being sulky."

"She’s going to see my arm and freak out." Emma complained.

"That’ll happen tonight either way."

* * *

 

"Hey?" Emma looked into Snow’s classroom, noticing no one there bar Snow at her desk grading papers. "You busy?"

"No…I, no, I’m not." Snow set down her pen but watched Emma closely. "What do you need?"

Emma had debated on the way over if she should go the adult route and play nice while apologizing, or just go with that stupid persistent instinct that would gain a hug.

"I said no to George," Emma said shortly, "He got pissed." She raised her right arm and pulled the sleeve up, "Can you make it better?"

"What did he do?" Snow demanded, out of her seat in a moment and at Emma’s side.

"I said no," Emma repeated, "He grabbed me to change my mind."

Snow’s hands were cold but gentle on her arm as she examined it, “When did this happen?”

"This morning." Emma said truthfully, "Belle made me go into the Diner and Mama made me put ice on it and I had to put up with her feeding me like a toddler," Emma whined, not wanting to admit she’d kind of enjoyed being fussed over,"Then Dad got all protector over me and there were cuddles and stories," Emma waved it off with her left hand, right still in Snow’s possession. "But, um, I’m sorry for not telling you I was talking to him and for listening to him and for breaking your heart." the last bit was said so much quieter than the rest that Snow was surprised she actually heard it.

"You didn’t break my heart," Snow said quickly, letting Emma’s arm go back down.

"Regina said I did…" Emma frowned, "I made you cry."

"I…I was just upset."

"I’m sorry." Emma repeated. "I was stupid and disrespectful and I didn’t know about him and he got in my head and…He says I’m just like James. Regina says I’m not because James was an ass and I’m just ‘moderately intolerable’ but…"

Snow pulled her into a close hug, arms wrapping around her protectively, “You’re a good person, Emma, you’re not like James.”

Emma wrapped her arms around her mother and leaned her had against Snow’s shoulder, the words she’d been wanting to hear for days echoing in her head, “You sure?”

"Completely." Snow assured her. "No matter what you do or how ‘stupid’ you may act, I’ll always love you, you know that right?"

"I know…Love you too."  



	6. Expressions

They never got to learn different cries, different signals to tell them what their baby needed, but they’re learning quickly faces and vocal patterns. 

It’s not long till they know immediately that Emma’s upset or angry – Charming learned that one inside a week – when she just wants to be left alone.

They never feel the need to make note of any ‘hungry’ comments, she seems to have a bottomless stomach like Charming and a sweet tooth to match.

But there’s one expression he could never place, chin quivering just a little, eyes a bit wider, forehead crinkled like his. It takes a few times of seeing it before he puts it together in surprise.

“Snow,” Charming nudges Snow carefully, “That’s an ‘I want my Mommy’ look.”

Snow looks dazed but nods, “I think you’re right…”

That look only needs a tight hug and a few soft words from Snow to disappear.

He’s still waiting on the ‘Dad’ expression, but he doesn’t mind.  
  



	7. Fears

 

* * *

David, age 10

* * *

  
David lay still in his bed, blanket clutched tightly to his chest as he tried to even out his breathing. His heart was racing, his breathing far to fast as he tried to shake off what was left of his nightmare. He was a big boy, he wasn’t going to go crawl into his parents bed. He wasn’t little, he was big and strong and…the dark was scary.

”David?”

He looked up and saw his father looking over at him from his parents bed. “David, what’s wrong?”

"I had a bad dream." David admitted, clinging to his blanket.

His father smiled at him, “Come here.” He gestured him closer and David eagerly abandoned his bed to run across.

His father lifted him easily onto the bed, settling David between himself and Ruth, tucked under the covers and safe.

"Do you think you need me to light a candle?" he asked quietly, brushing David’s hair with his fingers.

David shook his head, “I think I’m okay. Night Dad,” David lay with his ear pressed against his father’s chest, “Love you.”

"Love you too, David."

He fell asleep listening to his father’s heart beat, his mother’s soft breaths and with the feeling of his father’s hand on his back protectively.

* * *

  
Red, age 10

* * *

  
Red curled up into as tight of a ball as she could manage under her quilt, hands pressed tightly to cover hear ears as the thunder rumbled loudly outside.

A lighting strike lit up the entire room and she whimpered, curling further in on herself and nearly crying when the thunder that followed rattled the house

Storms were scary and loud and they always hurt her ears but she was trying to be a big girl and sleep in her trundle bed and not climb up onto Granny’s bed.

After a particularly loud boom that shook the entire house caused her to yelp she gave up and stood cautiously on her bed to climb onto Granny’s, “Granny?” She whispered fearfully.

"What’s wrong?" Granny opened her eyes, "Is the storm scaring you?"

"Uh-huh," Red nodded and bit her lip, "C-can I sleep up here with you?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Granny pulled her quilts back and let Red scamper underneath them and curl up tight against her. "The storm can’t hurt you in here, it’s just loud."

"I know…Peter says it’s magic in the clouds." Red confided, head on Granny’s shoulder.

"Oh, that’s what Peter says?"

"Uh huh. Do you think something else?" Red asked curiously, waiting on the next lightning strike.

"Well," Granny said slowly, "My father always told me it was the giants chopping down trees."

"Like we do?" Red giggled.

"Yes, only much, much bigger!"

The lightning struck this time and Red pressed herself closer to Granny, shielding her eyes, her body tense as she waited for the thunder.

"Count it out," Granny told her, "The lightning’s the first blow of the axe, how long does it take the tree to fall?"

"O-one, two, th-three," Red whispered the numbers, waiting, "F-four." when she hit four the boom sounded and she squeaked in fear.

"See? Now next time do you think it’ll be more or less than four strikes?" Granny brushed the hair away from Red’s face and smiled down at her.

"I…I don’t know."

They lay awake most of the night, counting the strikes together until the storm had passed and Red could finally sleep.

* * *

  
Snow, age 10

* * *

  
"What’s wrong?" Regina asked, setting the lamp she held down on Snow’s bedside table.

"N-nothing." Snow said shakily, wishing she didn’t have her stuffed bear held in her arms so visible. She had just gained a new mother and already she was going to look like a baby in front of her.

"Something’s wrong," Regina insisted, sitting down on the side of her bed, "Did you have a nightmare?" She reached out and brushed Snow’s hair with her fingers, smiling kindly at her as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Yes." Snow admitted weakly. "I didn’t mean to wake you."

"I was already awake," Regina assured her, "I was reading and heard you making noise so I thought I’d check on you."

Snow hid her face against the back of her bear’s head. “Sorry.”

"It’s okay, Snow," Regina laughed quietly. She moved her hand and touched the ear of the bear curiously, "I had a stuffed rabbit. It’s still tucked away somewhere," Regina confided, "I think they keep away nightmares fairly well."

"R-really?" Snow looked over the bear’s head at Regina. She wasn’t going to call her a baby for having it?

"Really. My rabbit was my protector against a dark room," Regina’s hand left the bear and pulled the comforter up higher on Snow til she was covered again, "Would you like me to stay until you fall back asleep?"

"Yes, please." Snow nodded, still embarrassed.

Regina settled down on the bed, looking less stiff than before and started playing with Snow’s curls almost absently, humming quietly.

She soon found herself drifting off to sleep again.

 

* * *

Henry Mills, age 10, pre-Emma

* * *

  
Henry climbed out of bed, toy rabbit clutched tightly to his chest and winced at the lightning outside. He was supposed to be a big boy, to be brave and not scared of anything but lightning was scary and the thunder was loud and….maybe his Mom needed protection?

He opened his door, looked around the hallway and then crossed quickly to his Mom’s room. Her door was closed but that didn’t mean anything.

He knocked lightly and heard her call out for him to come in.

She was sat up in bed, file spread across her lap and the bedside lamp on. “What’s wrong, Henry?”

"Um, the storm and I thought…I…maybe you could use a protector?" Henry suggested weakly.

"Oh? Are you and Peter going to protect me?" She asked gently, gesturing to his toy rabbit.

"Yes." Henry nodded, trying to look confident but then lightning struck outside and he flinched.

"Come here," Regina set her file aside and held her hands out to him.

He quickly abandoned his ‘heroic’ facade in lieu of comfort as he clamored onto the bed beside her, arms around his mother.

"It’s just a silly storm," Regina assured him, holding him close as the thunder rumbled and rubbing his back in soothing circles, "It can’t get us inside."

"I know that," Henry said quickly.

"I know," Regina smiled and tickled his neck with her fingernails, making him squirm. "Do you want to sleep in here tonight? Just  to keep me safe, of course." Regina played along.

"Uh-huh." Henry nodded and settled down on the other side of the bed, toy clutched close as she tucked him in carefully. "Are you going to sleep too?"

"I need to finish this first, but that just means I’ll get to watch the storm," Regina reached over even as she opened her file again and ran her fingers through his hair, nails just lightly scratching against his scalp and hummed softly till he fell back asleep, warm and safe.

* * *

  
Emma Swan, age 10

* * *

  
She tried not to make noise, she tried to say quiet but it seemed impossible as her breath hitched an a sob escaped.

Emma buried her head in her baby blanket, trying to keep anyone from hearing and trying to stop the noise but it wasn’t working.

She hated nightmares, but they always seemed to come no matter what. It didn’t help the room was kept pitch black, lit only by the lights from traffic outside and the door kept shut.

Nightlights were bad, her foster parents said, they ‘fostered a dependency’.

"If you don’t shut up they’re going to lock you in the closet again." Her foster sister said irritably from her bunk of the bunkbed.

"Sorry." Emma hiccuped out around a sob, holding onto her blanket like a lifeline.

"I’m not going to feel sorry for you if they do." the girl’s voice echoed down again, completely unsympathetic.

"I know." Emma bit her lip to hold back the tears and hid under her blanket.

If she held it real tight around her sometimes she could pretend maybe it was her mommy. It was hand made, that meant her parents must have made it for her…  
It didn’t do much to help her fears, but it was something.  
  



	8. Sick days

Emma felt miserable. Her chest hurt, her head was throbbing and no matter how she shifted she couldn’t get to sleep.

She was burning hot as well, despite being dressed in sleep pants and a t-shirt. She wrestled with logic and instinct for a few moments then made her way across the nest, baby blanket around her shoulders, to sink down next to Snow. She lay down after a moment with her head on Snow’s stomach.

"Emma?" Snow woke and looked down at her, "What’s wrong?"

"Don’t feel good." Emma whispered, eyes closed as she hooked one arm around Snow’s stomach.

"Poor baby." Snow reached down and started playing with Emma’s hair. Within a few moments Emma was fast asleep using her mother as a teddy bear.

* * *

  
"Did you get her something?" Snow asked quietly, laying still next to Emma who was clinging to her like a koala. She brushed the hair back from Emma’s face, just toying with the curls and wishing her temperature would go down.

"I have NyQuil, DayQuil, vics, sudafed, nose stuff, stuff for fevers, stuff for aches," Charming dumped an entire bag full of various medications out onto the counter with a frantic look, "What do I give her?"

Red looked at the boxes and bottles and started reading the instructions through before handing one to Charming, “Dayquil.”

"Okay…measure…where’s my measurer." he mumbled digging through the pile for the needleless syringe.

"Does she need another icepack?" Red asked worriedly, not sure what to do.

"Maybe." Snow bit her lip, "I don’t know."

* * *

  
Regina raised her hand to knock on the door to the “Charming’s” apartment with reluctance. She wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Henry being as worried as he was.

She had met him to walk with him to the school bus – a short trip from Granny’s that she knew she was watched on – and he’d been near panic attack over the fact his ‘Mom’ was really sick and his ‘grandparents’ didn’t know how to make her better. All it had taken was a set of teary eyes and a ‘Please, Mom?’ and she’d agreed to come help them.

The door was pulled open by a frantic looking Charming who instantly looked shocked then leery, “Regina?”

"Hello, Charming, I—" She was cut off when there was a massive sounding cough attack from inside and Charming turned around, forgetting her and dashing towards it.

She let herself in and shut the door behind her. It appeared that at some point in time they’d turned their living room into a massive nest in the centre of which Emma was laying, now propped up against Charming who was rubbing her back in an attempt at soothing the coughing.

The counters were littered with bottles and boxes of different medications and rubs, a wastebasket next to the nest was full of tissues and Charming looked overwrought.

"My God, you really don’t have a clue." Regina muttered to herself. She crossed reluctantly and knelt next to Charming and Emma. Pushing against Charming’s arm she managed to make Emma sit up further and before Charming could protest she started hitting her back with an open palm, just hard enough to make a solid thunk.

"Regina, what the hell—!"

Charming froze when the coughing attack ceased and Emma took in a deep breath. “How’d you do that?” He asked, settling her back how she had been.

"I’m a Mother, Charming, despite how much the group of you hate acknowledging that." Regina said dryly, sitting back on her heels, "I do know how to take care of a sick person."

"So you know what to do?" Charming asked hesitantly, holding his daughter close.

"Most times, yes. What’s wrong with her?" Regina sighed, giving up on the ‘act remote’ route she’d wanted to take. It made Henry happy, so she’d consort with the enemy for now.

"I don’t know!"

"Symptoms." Regina prompted, trying not to sound aggravated.

"Oh…She’s got a fever and she’s either coughing or can’t breath right and when she’s awake she says everything hurts…she’s sleeping a lot too." Charming added after a moment’s thought.

"Sleeping is normal, it’s when the body heals…" Regina looked around, "Do you have a humidifier? A nebulizer?"

"Uh…no?" Charming questioned, not sure what she meant.

"Great…Hold on." Regina stood and walked off the nest into the bathroom where he could hear water being turned on. Moments later she returned, "Do you have any loose fitting clothing you can change her into? Something light.”

"I’ve got some sleep stuff of mine but she’d kill me if she found out I’d changed her." Charming toyed with Emma’s hair absently as the woman groaned in her sleep.

"Charming, you are an idiot." Regina stated bluntly, "Which drawer is yours?" she asked, indicating the dresser.

"Top right." he said, trying not to yell in protest at her words.

She opened it, laughed and returned with a shirt that would swamp Emma. “Sit her up?”

"You’re not changing her, are you?" Charming nearly squeaked in defence of his kid.

"Not technically." Regina with Charming’s help managed to get the shirt on over top of Emma’s own tighter fitting t-shirt.”

Charming frowned, “What was the point in that?”

"Girl trick." Regina said, moving as Charming watched in concern till she pulled Emma’s shirt off through the collar of her other shirt.

"How’d you do that?"

"Magic." Regina said dryly.

"Oh, can you do the same for pants?" He asked hopefully.

"Sorry, doesn’t work that way." She tried not to laugh as Charming covered his eyes with one hand to allow her to swap out Emma’s sweat pants for a loose fitting pair of his shorts. "She’d kill me if she knew I let you change her.” Charming said lightly.

"I’m certain she’ll kill me anyway." Regina considered, standing up again, "But given that if she dies everything goes haywire I’ll take my chances. Pick her up."

"Why?" Charming asked, even as he did as told and stood.

"Coughing and the breathing can both be settled by steam, something you’d normally use a humidifier for, but given you don’t have one." She gestured to the bathroom where the shower was producing a great amount of steam by now. "Find a spot, sit down and pretend it’s a sauna." Regina smiled tightly,  
"You’re going to be in here for a while."  
  
Charming didn’t protest at all, just walked past her.

"Where are Snow and Red anyway?" Regina asked, leaning against the door jam as Charming settled himself on the floor, Emma curled up against his chest.

"They went to get more supplies and advice from Granny. They’ve only been gone about fifteen minutes." Charming looked morose as he cradled Emma, completely out of his depth.

"When did you last give her anything?"

"Um…She had dayquil before Henry went to school but I think she threw it up. Maybe she has the flu—?"

"More likely she just coughed hard enough she made herself sick." Regina waved off his worries and left him alone briefly. She found the dayquil bottle on the counter along with a few needleless syringes and carefully measured out the right dose. A glance around the kitchen made her shake her head in disbelief. They really did go off their game when their kid got sick.

She returned to the bathroom and knelt down once again, “Sit her up a little.”

"We tried this before but she wouldn’t swallow it." Charming said, but sat her up till her head was against his shoulder.

"Mhmm, Henry’s the same." Regina offered, patting Emma’s cheek lightly, "Miss Swan."

It gained her a groan and she did it again.

"Wha?" Emma asked groggily.

"Talk to her." Regina told Charming, giving him the syringe, "And get her to drink that before you let her fade out again." She stood and left the bathroom, listening to him ramble about something or another and surveyed the mess that was the kitchen.She was not helping them, she assured herself as she took off her jacket and set it aside, rolling up her sleeves. She was helping Henry. He could not live somewhere dirty and germ infested. She was helping her son, not his other Mother or Grandparents.

* * *

  
"Think we’ve got everything?" Snow asked for the tenth time as she looked down at their shopping bags.

"Everything Granny said," Red agreed, shifting her grip on the bags she held so she could open the door, "Let’s just hope it works."

As the two walked through the door they both froze in shock. The apartment was clean, not just clean but semi-sparkling in places. It smelled like lemon and steam but weirdest of all was the kitchen. It was clean, like the rest, but Regina stood at the counter, apron on, sleeves rolled up, chopping vegetables on one of their chopping boards.

"I’ve died," Snow said blankly, "I’m in purgatory or I’m in the midst of a nightmare." She sat the bags down and looked warily at Regina, "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you." Regina said evenly, turning to dump the celery she’d diced into a bubbling pot on the stove.

"Why?" Red asked suspiciously, looking to find Emma and Charming.

"Because the three of you are utterly hopeless and Henry begged me to make sure that Emma would be okay." Regina rinsed the knife off before moving back to the cutting board, this time placing carrots on it.

Red peeked into the bathroom and found Charming resting with his back against one wall, Emma cradled on his lap. “What’s with the bathroom?”

"Steam helps relax and clear airways," Regina told her, "Making it easier to breathe and settling coughing. You can bring her out by now, Charming, see if you can get her settled."

"How do you know to do this?" Snow asked, unpacking bags.

"Henry gets sick like this," Regina waved off her question, "Must be genetic."

"I never got sick like this." Charming said, passing them to place Emma down amongst the blankets.

"Me either." Snow shook her head.

"Well, I can’t exactly use magic here to keep them from getting ill." Regina observed.

"You used magic to keep me healthy?" Snow asked in shock.

Regina froze briefly, staring down at the cutting board, “Don’t put words in my mouth.” Regina said tightly, returning to chopping.  
  
Charming looked up in surprise, looking just as stunned as Snow as he settled Emma down on the pillows. “Um, blankets a bad thing?” he questioned, picking up Emma’s baby blanket and toying with it in uncertainty. “It helps her settle.”  
  
Regina looked over at him and spotted the blanket, “Just the one and if she gets too hot you’ll have to take it off of her.” she turned back to the pot, sliding the carrots in and stirring it.  
  
“Are you making soup?” Red looked into the kitchen curiously, staying out of reach all the same.  
  
“Chicken soup, tradition for making sick people around the world better.” Regina said absently, setting the spoon aside and covering the pot.  
  
“We had ingredients for that?” Red looked astonished.  
  


“Just because you never look in the vegetable drawer doesn’t mean we don’t stock vegetables.” Snow told her, trying not to roll her eyes. “Or do you not remember celery and peanut butter the other night?”  
  
“I remember peanut butter,” Red admitted.  
  
“That would be because you ate the peanut butter and spent the evening ditching celery behind things or tossing it at me.” Charming informed her with a grin.  
  
“Henry gets sick like this too? Does that mean you know how long it lasts?” Snow asked, clearly worried for her child.  
  
“Two or three days full blow, another few days of being grumpy and coughing.” Regina stuck the utensils she’d been using to prepare vegetables in the sink full of hot soapy water and dried her hands on a dish towel.  
  
“Anything we can do to speed it along?” Red looked just as worried.  
  
“Unfortunately it has to run it’s course.” Regina sighed, “Henry gets like this at least twice every winter despite my best attempts at keeping him healthy.” She looked sideways at Snow, “Picking up every little bug within a ten mile radius has to be genetic. Either that or a propensity for annoying me is.”  
  
Red looked like she was pondering it, “I’d go with option two, but only because it’s your kid’s job to annoy you and you did adopt your step-kid’s grandkid.”  
  
“I thought we were ignoring that aspect.” Snow said, trying not to look embarrassed as she moved to sit next to Emma on the nest.  
  
“Sweetheart, we stopped ignoring that aspect of your relationships the moment you and Henry started comparing childhood antics and punishments,” Red paused and turned to Regina, “By the way, Henry having to scrub his carpet after spilling grape juice all over it was no where near as ‘horrible’ as Snow having so scrub down the stairs after playing with the servant’s kids in the courtyard. according to judges.”  
  
Regina just arched an eyebrow at that,“Did she neglect to add the part in which she coated them liberally in mud after coming in covered head to toe and looking like some sort of breathing mud monster? I’m assuming also Henry left out the part in which he wasn’t supposed to have grape juice in his room because he’d done the same thing once before and it took a steam clean to get it out.”  
  
“Ooh, might have.” Red nodded and grinned, “Snow, have you been hiding things?”  
  
“Yup, definitely in the midst of a nightmare,” Snow decided, face bright red.  
  
“Any details to add into the story in which she had to stand in the corner for an hour?” Charming asked even as Snow tried to shush him.  
  
“Oh, or the one where Henry ended up sitting in time out for thirty minutes?” Red nearly clapped her hands, recalling that comparison.  
  
“Sneaking out and getting herself lost while the guards searched frantically and deciding it was funny to add an entire bottle of bubbles to the bath respectively.” Regina stated, turning back to the stove to check the soup.  
  
“This is far too fun.”  
  
“Keep asking and I’ll start bugging Granny for stories.” Snow threatened, trying to maintain some dignity.  
  



	9. Coffee

“Are you drinking coffee straight from the pot?” Snow asked, blinking away sleep.

“Yup.” Emma responded happily. She’d taken the lid off and the inside was clearly filled with milk and sugar as well as coffee and stuck one of Henry’s crazy straws in it.

“Why?” Snow inquired, completely baffled.

“I haven’t slept in thirty hours and I couldn’t find a cup.” Emma shrugged, holding the pot with a towel to keep from burning herself.

Snow shook her head and reached up to open one of the kitchen cabinets. “Really?” She asked, pulling out a mug and offering it to Emma.

“Oh, oops?” Emma shrugged again but didn’t go to exchange the cups.

-

“How much coffee have you had today?” Red asked, sitting on the edge of the counter watching as Emma tried to sit still and failed miserably. 

She was tapping her feet on the ground and on occasion shaking her hands to rid energy.

“A metric fuck-ton.” Emma answered honestly, running her hand through her hair.

“Okay, that answer alone gets you cut off.” Red stole her cup, “Go sleep.” she ordered.

“Can’t sleep.” Emma shook her head.

“Why not?”

“Nightmares? Oh, and paperwork. The two aren’t exactly mutually exclusive.” Emma told her, tapping her fingers on her knee.

“I will forcefeed you nyquil.” Red threatened.


	10. Sleeping Charming

"Wait, I thought you bit an apple too." Emma said, brow wrinkled in confusion.  
  
"No, what was left of that sent Henry under," Charming clarified, "I had to pick my finger on a spindle.  
  
"On a spindle." Emma repeated in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah, you know it’s a spinning—"  
  
"I know what it is I just…" Emma pursed her lips, pausing for a moment. "You, 6’1 Prince ‘Charming’ got taken out by a spindle that also took out the 5’2 Princess in LACE that I just spent a few weeks hanging around with."  
  
"…" Charming ducked his head, "That’s not the same."  
  
"Oh my God I have two princesses for parents." Emma muttered, obviously fighting back laughter. "Snow White and the apparently male Sleeping Beauty."  
  
"Hey, I am not!"  
  
"You got taken out by a needle," Emma was loosing the battle against laughter, "You got taken out the exact same way a Princess HALF YOUR SIZE did."  
  
"…It’s more manly than that. More dashing and heroic."  
  
"You even did it while wearing a necklace gifted to you by a prince!"  
  
"Hey!"  
  



	11. Injuries

  
Charming watched, trying not to sulk as Henry and Neal fought with the toy swords across the little play area.  
  
Those were HIS and Henry’s swords, not Neal’s. Neal didn’t even fight properly. Neal fought awkwardly like this type of sword was weird which it wasn’t. It was a proper training sword for one like Charming used.  
  
 Emma was getting fairly good with the set they had at the station - bigger than Henry’s wooden ones and heavier, basically dull never-sharpened normal swords - and soon she’d be confident enough to fight somewhere other than the station or in the woods when they did their ‘rounds’. For some reason she was embarrassed to let anyone see her practice so no one knew yet.  
  
 ”Henry is getting quite good, isn’t he?”  
  
Charming was startled out of his thoughts and found Gold had come and sat down next to him at the little picnic table at some point. “He’s learning the wrong technique from Neal.”  
  
"Everyone fights differently." Gold said defensively.  
  
"Neal fights like a pirate, not like a Warrior or a Prince."  
  
Gold bristled, “Excuse me?”  
  
There was a thump and they both looked over to see Henry sprawled just on the edge of concrete looking startled.  
  
It took a few seconds for the pain to sink in and he could see the moment it did and Henry looked like he might cry.  
  
Charming forced himself to stay still and not rush over, sure Neal would be handling it and he’d just be an unwelcome intrusion.  
  
But when Henry opened his mouth instead of a cry for Neal he yelled, “GRAMPS!”  
  
Charming was on his feet in a second, dashing across the grass to his Grandson. “Hey, buddy.” He knelt down next to Henry, ignoring Neal and the smugness he could feel rising inside. “What happened?”  
  
“I tripped.” Henry sniffled. His left palm had several scrapes that were bleeding now and looked painful and his left knee had been scraped pretty badly as well, enough it’d torn the fabric of his jeans.  
  
“We all trip sometimes. C’mon, let’s get you fixed up.” Charming scooped Henry up in his arms easily. Gold’s shop was closest and more than likely had some sort of first aid kit but instead he started walking, heading towards Granny’s. Okay, maybe he was being possessive but Henry was his first!  
  
He could hear Neal and Gold following after him but didn’t pay them any attention.  
Charming shifted Henry’s weight in his arms just enough to open the door at the diner and slip inside, letting it close behind him.  
  
Almost instantly Red was at their side, “What happened?” She asked worriedly.  Luckily for Henry’s pride there were only a few people around in the diner.  
  
“Was stupid and tripped.” Henry said, fighting back tears of pain.  
  
“He was sword fighting and was injured by an opponent that doesn’t fight like a Prince.” Charming countered, setting Henry down on the table at the booth furthest from the door so not to interrupt anyone’s meal.  
  
“I’ll get the kit.” Red sighed, “Between you and your mother you Pups are going to run that kit out.”  
  
“Make a bigger kit!” Charming teased, winking to make Henry smile.  
  
“Hey!” Neal smiled wide and held the door open for his Father before making his way to the booth. “Sorry, Kid, I didn’t see the edge of the walk.”  
  
“It’s okay,” Henry said but Charming felt a little surge of pride when instead of moving closer to Neal, Henry curled into him.  
  
“Here we go,” Red returned with a little bowl of water, a washcloth and their firstaid kit.   
  
“What’s with the initials?” Neal asked curiously, seeing a list of initials written on the box with tally marks after them.  
  
“Scores. Emma’s winning.” Red said dryly, tracing the E.S. That was followed by five marks.  
  
“Alright, this is going to hurt a bit.” Charming warned Henry, pulling his jean leg up to expose the scrape on his leg first.   
  
“It’s okay.” Henry said bravely.  
  
Red slid into the booth on Henry’s right side across from Neal and took his hand in hers, “Well, it might hurt some, but you can squeeze if you need.” She smiled at him and he nodded.  
  
It took several minutes to get his knee and hand cleaned up completely, covered in bandages and kissed  better – leaving behind a red lipstick kiss mark on the one on his hand from Red.  
  
“Thanks, Gramps.” Henry said shakily as Charming rolled his pantleg back down.  
  
“No problem, buddy.” Charming gave him a hug, “I think being brave like that means we need icecream. What do you think?”  
  
“Can I?”  
  
“Course!” Red grinned at him. “Let’s get you set up at the counter and we’ll get a giant icecream.”  
  
“Why’d he call for you?” Neal asked once Red had led Henry away and helped him up onto one of the stools. “I’m his Dad.”  
  
“Yeah, but I’m his Gramps.” Charming said proudly, putting everything away.  
  
“What’s that mean?”  
  
“Basically? I rule.”  
  



	12. Guards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL AU

Emma had no sense of danger. Emma had no sense of fear. 

Most babies reactions to a wolf walking around would be to cry and demand to be picked up, held by their parents where it was safe.  
Emma, however, squealed happily and launched herself at it, tackling it and chewing on it’s ears, arms wrapped around it’s neck and giggling. 

”Emma! That’s not Mama!” Snow said with embarrassment as she lifted the protesting baby clear of the confused looking white wolf. “Sorry,” She blushed, bouncing Emma on her hip to quiet her whining.  
  
The Huntsman just laughed, “He’s used to it, he did help raise me after  
all.” he reached down and scratched the wolf’s now wet ears. “He’s a good pup wrangler.  
  
The wolf snorted and headbutted the Huntsman’s leg.  
  
“I mean he’s a fierce warrior and hunter.” he corrected himself, “And in no way should be relegated to Nanny…even if he does like pups.”  
  


* * *

  
  
“I am not a chewtoy.” the Huntsman told Emma, pulling his hand out of her reach which only served to make the baby cry.  
  
“You have toys,” he said quickly, offering her several of her toys to play with or chew on but each one was shoved away by the one year old.  
  
He was a guardian only when her parents couldn’t be. He and his brother stood watch over the nursery – the few nights she inhabited it at all – watched outside while she played but mostly acted as a giant playtoy while her parents were detained elsewhere.  
  
“No, don’t cry, sweetheart.” the Huntsman tried again, bouncing her on his knee but it didn’t work. Big tears rolled down her face and her lower lip was stuck out in a pout.  
  
Across the room his brother made a noise like disapproval and stood, trotting over and sprawling out ungracefully with his head on Emma’s lap.  
  
Almost immediately she stopped crying, content to have a new living chew toy.  
  
The look the wolf sent him was both chiding and annoyed, a look that should have been negated by the tiny hand on his forehead or the mouth now attached to his ears.  
  
“Sorry.” the Huntsman offered, “I’ll let her chew on me next time.”  
  
The Wolf gave a heavy sigh and flicked his ears before closing his eyes and relaxing.  
  
–  
  
“Huntsman?” Red was obviously trying not to laugh.  
  
“Yes?” He hunched his shoulders, trying not to think about the sight they presented.  
His brother was sprawled out asleep covered in little wooden building blocks that he’d turned into a tiny village from boredom while Emma napped on his lap, mouth still affixed to his hand.  
  
“Do I want to know any of this?” Red gestured to the trio.  
  
“I…” the Huntsman sighed and smiled sheepishly, “The Princess is teething and my brother thinks I should take a turn being a teething toy.”  
  
“I see.” Red laughed and crossed the room, plucking the baby from his lap with barely a noise of protest from Emma and settled her against her shoulder, “I’ve played teething toy too.”  
  
“So it’s not just me?” he said hopefully, wiping drool off his hand and onto his trousers.  
  
“I had a bruise on my collarbone last time she got a new tooth.” Red told him, “She seems to dislike chewing on anything that’s not alive.”  
  
“My condolences to the Queen.”  
  


* * *

  
  
"Hun’er?" the three year old Princess called out, peeking around one of the trees in the garden with confusion as she sought out her Guard turned giant playtoy. "Hun’er?" Emma tried again, turning in a slow circle and checking behind one of the bigger trees. Not there…  
  
She changed ideas and hurried over to the bushes, bare feet making less noise on the grass and looked behind them. She let out a squeal of delight and tackling the hiding man. “Foun’ you!”  
  
"So you did!" the Huntsman agreed easily tossing her into the air and catching her, spinning around to make her dizzy. "You definitely inherited the finding people skill.” he praised, crouching back down on the ground and setting her on his lap. He straightened a wild lock of hair and smiled, “Now, where’s my brother?"  
  
"Fin’ him too!" Emma promised, squirming out of his grip and running off.  
  
“Don’t you look dashing.” Charming teased, coming into the garden “Wear that often?”  
  
The Huntsman reached up and fixed his daisy tiara that Emma had made, “I look amazing in anything.” he said stuffily, not managing to hide a grin at all, “And the Princess commands I be pretty as well.”  
  
“Hmm. I prefer the little white flowers,” Charming chuckled, “They work better with my eyes.”  
  
“Maybe she’ll make you one, I heard her plotting evilly with her teddybear earlier for a tea party.”  
  
A squeak and a yip from across the garden told him she’d found his brother.  
  
“Who would ever turn down a tea party with the Princess?” Charming grinned.  
  



	13. Attempted Returns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Attempted suicide

  
"Emma, what are you doing?" Red demanded, finding Emma sitting on the edge of the roof of their apartment. She’d realized she was missing earlier and had gone searching.

"Found a way to get you all back home." Emma said, looking down over the edge, feet swinging freely and lightly tapping the bricks.

"What? How?" Red wrapped her arms closer around herself to ward off the breeze.

"My death ends the curse, everything and everyone will go back to the Enchanted forest - even Henry and Alexandra." Emma shifted her grip on the concrete beneath her, fingers now pointing to the ground over the edge, palm flat on the little roof guard she at on. "Regina will be powerless, Gold goes back to his cell, Cora and Hook end up stuck here because they didn’t come through with you. It’s perfect. I die, everyone’s happy." Emma gave a half shrug.

"Not everyone’s happy if you die." Red inched forward across the roof trying not to startle Emma or look threatening in anyway. "Your family won’t be. Our family."

"Henry will happily go off with Neal who’s perfect according to him; You, Snow and Charming can have more kids." Emma discounted her arguments, not noticing the flinch from Red when she used their names and not ‘Mom’, ‘Mama’ or ‘Dad’, "And I have no living grandparents who don’t want to kill me, well, besides Granny." Emma added with a small smile.

"Your friends," Red tried again, “They’ll miss you.”

Emma scoffed, “Yes the two in the enchanted forest and you here. That’s real convincing.”

"What about Henry?" Red said.

"Henry thinks I’m worse than Regina, has returned to calling me ‘Emma’ and would rather stay with Neal." Emma looked more hurt than she’d ever seen her.

"Charming and I will get rid of Neal." Red offered quickly, now within a few feet of Emma.

"You’re all so willing to help me now, keep me safe now, why not when I went through the wardrobe?" Emma demanded.

"I fought tooth and claw to keep you safe till you went through!” Red nearly yelled, barely keeping herself calm. She’d been fighting the entire time, trying to keep them safe. She’d missed Emma’s birth due to battle.

"But not after. You three left me in the hands of a scared child instead of coming through with me!"

Red stared at Emma in confusion, “Emma, what are you talking about?”

"You three couldn’t bear to be apart so you sent me through with Pinocchio!" Emma said angrily, staring over the edge, "It took two, you could have come with me. Someone could have."

"The wardrobe took one, that’s what we were told…how do you know this?" Red demanded, horror rising.

"August is Pinocchio, he told me. Abandoned me all alone in foster care to run off and see the world and then came back to guilt me into saving everyone because ‘I had to’. He didn’t care, he just didn’t want to die." Emma scoffed, “Disappeared the moment the curse broke and never looked back.”

"Emma, I didn’t know. We didn’t know."

"Doesn’t matter. Twenty eight years too late anyhow." Emma kicked her feet a little harder and watched her shoes tumble down and hit the pavement far below with a thump.

"Sacrificed my childhood to the system, my teenage years to Neal, my adulthood to finding people and saving everyone. It makes sense, in a way, to sacrifice my life to actually gain something good." she mused.

"No it doesn’t!" Emma turned to look at the new voice and saw Snow hurrying towards them, a panicked look on her face. "It makes no sense, Emma."

"You called her." Emma said accusingly, glaring at Red who held her hands up in front of her in denial.

"No, she didn’t. Granny heard you two up here." Snow tried to move closer but when she did Emma scooted closer to the edge. "Emma, don’t do this," she pleaded, standing next to Red, tears in her eyes, "Think of what could happen, of what we could find in a day, a month!"

"More misery, more people dying due to Cora and a whole lot more fuckups from me?" Emma tapped her fingers on the concrete, swinging her feet so that her heels just barely hit the building each time.

"Have you been drinking?"

"Little bit." Emma admitted, giving a little shrug. "Takes a bit of courage to manage this."

"Takes more courage to walk away." Red said.

"That’s debatable." Emma countered, shaking her head.

"Emma, get back, now." Snow pleaded, "We’ll figure some other way, this way isn’t worth it."

"Not your choice."

"What?"

"You sent me here without my permission, I’ll send you back without yours." Emma promised.

"EMMA, NO!" As Emma shoved herself forward, Red moved and grabbed hold of her, sending both over the edge with a scream.

* * *

  
A beeping noise invaded Emma’s consciousness before anything else. It wasn’t long after that pain started registering. “Ugh.” She groaned and tried to open her eyes, forced to close them as the light blinded her and sent a piercing pain through her head. “Ow.”

"Emma?" Snow’s voice sent another pain through her head. "Emma! She’s awake." Snow’s voice echoed inside her skull like someone shouting through a pipe.

"Ow." Emma repeated, trying to reach up and touch her head but not quite managing to get her muscles to obey her. "Mom?" she whimpered.

There were people moving around and talking loudly then hands on hers as she faded back out into unconsciousness once again.

Next time she awoke it wasn’t nearly as bright or loud, but the beeping was still there echoing beside her. “Ow.” She whimpered again, trying to open her eyes or move but found it too hard to do either.

Everything was heavy and hurt so that she wasn’t even sure what was injured because it was all over.

"Emma? Sit still, okay?" Charming’s voice broke through her temporary panic and she felt his hand rest on her face, "Calm down, babygirl."  
  
The panic started to recede, the warmth of his hand giving her something to focus on beyond the pain.

"Dad?" she forced her eyes open and tried to focus on his face. "Hurts." she managed, vision blurry from tears, sleep and lack of contacts.

"I know, hold on." Charming sat down on the edge of the bed and fiddled with her IV, pressing something that sent a weird feeling through her hand and up her arm. "That should be better." She closed her eyes again and felt him brushing her face.

"Where’m I?" Emma asked hoarsely.

"In the hospital, you got hurt.” Charming’s voice was thick and she frowned, “Do you remember?"

"Ow…Jumped." Emma winced at the memory and risked opening her eyes to see his face and nearly cried at the pain she saw in it, "What happened?"

"You got hurt and we brought you here." Charming said delicately, his thumb just brushing over the side of her face.  
  
“How hurt?”  
  
“Nothing’s broken,” he assured her, “They’ve wrapped your leg though because it’s a bad sprain Whale wants to check. You gave your head a knock, but they’ve scanned it several times and think you’ll be okay. I think they said something about cracking a few ribs from how you landed but…”

An important thought hit her, a flash of memory that made her heart drop. “Where’s Mama?” she tried to sit up but groaned in pain and was forced to lay back.

"She’s—"

"Goddamn it, Whale, move your ass before I kick it."

Emma winced as she shifted to look at the door, her entire body protesting.

"In another room." Charming finished dully.

"You need to be in bed, Ruby." she heard Whale speaking too and winced again.

"No, I need to be with my Pup before she starts freaking out." Moments later the door swung open and a very annoyed looking Ruby entered. She had a cast covering the lower half of her left arm and several angry looking bruises shown off by her sweat pants and tank top, all paling in comparison to the extremely pissed off look she held.

"Mama." Emma said weakly, trying to sit up again.

"Don’t move," Red moved to sit on the opposite side of the bed as David, her bad arm facing away from Emma, "You’ll hurt yourself."

"I jumped."

"Yeah." Red nodded looking faintly annoyed.

"You grabbed me." Emma continued, sorting through her memories despite the pain.

"You’re my Pup, I had to." Red brushed her fingertips across Emma’s face like Charming had, as if making sure she were real.

"You hit the ground." Emma whispered, the memory flashing before her eyes with alarming clarity.

"You did too, I just…took more of the impact." Red finished after a moment of thought.

"Why?" Emma asked completely baffled.

"I’m built more solidly than you are; wolf thing."

"Why for me?"

"You’re my Pup." Red stated simply, brushing Emma’s hair with her fingertips and tucking it behind her ear.

"Wh-where’s Mom?" Emma switched thoughts, trying not to cry.

"She’s at home with Henry." Charming told her toying with his wedding ring.

"Why’s Henry there? Thought he was with Neal." Henry had wanted to stay with him for the weekend and went into a sulking fit until she’d allowed it.

"He was." Charming said slowly, looking towards the wall and biting his lip either from shame or to keep from smiling.

"I told you we’d get rid of Neal." Red didn’t hide the smile and gestured to Charming’s right hand which was bandaged, "Daddy goes really crazy when his babygirl’s hurt." she explained briefly at Emma’s questioning look.

Trying not to smile then.

"Neal’s two rooms over." Charming had the decency to look a little embarrassed, "Henry’s home." he repeated the words a little firmer.

"He’s been freaking out about you," Red told her, "No one would let him into the hospital while you and I were out though so he’s been staying with Granny while Snow’s here and with whoever is home at night."

"We may have rebuilt the nest." Charming picked up Emma’s hand and held it carefully between his own, "We’re having a very long talk when we get home, Emma." Emma nodded but winced at the pain it caused.

"Go call Snow," Red told Charming, "She’ll be mad if she’s not informed Emma’s awake."  
  


* * *

  
When Snow came to find them an hour later she found Charming sitting back on the visitor’s chair watching Red and Emma curled up in the bed together, both looking about half asleep and precariously perched with only the bed rails keeping either from falling. “Hey,” Snow blinked back tears, “How are you feeling?”  
Emma shifted against Red and held out a hand towards Snow in a simple plea. Snow moved to the bedside and took Emma’s hand in her own.

"Don’t cry." Emma whispered pleadingly.

"Can’t help it. If you ever do something that stupid again I’m going to lock you in a tower with no windows." Snow threatened even as she kissed Emma’s forehead.

"Rapunzle?" Emma questioned.

"Mmm, sort of." she leaned over and pressed a kiss to Red’s forehead too, "Granny’s baking from nerves. I think our apartment is filled with about thirty types of pie that she won’t let anyone have till you two come home."

"Sounds great." Emma said sleepily, snuggling into Red again.

"Sleep," Snow told her, "I’ll be here."

* * *

  
"Mom!" Henry yelled excitedly.

"Hang on, buddy." Charming said, sidestepping his grandson with Emma in his arms. He’d refused to let her try all the stairs on crutches and against protests had just scooped her up bridal style. He crossed the room and knelt down in the centre of their nest before setting Emma down gently, "How’s that?" he asked.

"Good, thanks." Emma shifted and relaxed against the mountain of pillows. “You didn’t have to carry me.” she said with some embarrassment.

"Gentle, Henry." Snow reminded him as the boy ran to Emma.

Henry stopped mid bound and changed speed, almost tiptoeing across the mattresses and blankets to kneel down next to her. “I’m glad you’re better.” Henry whispered, wrapping his arms around her gently and resting his head on her chest.

“Glad I’m better too.” Emma said softly, returning the hug as tightly as she could.  
  



	14. Prince Charming(s)

The town was far too calm, too quiet and barely had need for a Sheriff, let alone a deputy yet somehow here they both sat, Daughter and Father, both bored out of their minds.  
  
“You know, Disney both does you justice and vilifies you.” Emma observed around a mouthful of donut.  
  
“Huh?” Charming looked up from Henry’s gameboy. “What do you mean?” he asked, feet up on his desk.  
  
“Well, for one you’re a total player but you also sort of run three kingdoms on the sly and rescue damsels in distress left, right and centre,” Emma observed while taking another bite, “Think there’s some sort of power kink there that they’re hinting at not so subtly, maybe some somnophilia given two of the Princesses..”  
  
Charming sat up straight, feet hitting the ground, “What?” he choked out.  
  
"I’m just saying, I mean…Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty all were rescued by ‘Prince Charming’." Emma popped the last of the donut in her mouth and held up her hands up defensively. "Draw you own conclusions but I’m saying ‘polygamy’."  
  
Charming glared at Emma, trying to force the blush and horror to go away. “Is this for the disco music?”  
  
"Nope. Just wondering if this means I have three mommies." Emma wiped her hands on her trousers and stood up.  
  
"…You’re a horrible child." Charming rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to dispel horrible images and wishing he could sue Disney. “What did I ever do to you?”  
  
Emma shrugged and pulled on her jacket, “You brought bearclaws.”  
  



	15. Prompt 2

Emma was pulling away from them, getting quieter and quieter ever since the bean fields when they’d told her their plan to go home. Back to their land.  
  
She was staying later at work, sometimes not coming home till after Henry was in bed and was out the door almost before Snow or Henry in the mornings.  
  
Charming said she was acting the same at work, keeping in her office quiet and working on ‘paper work’, something she never did willingly, and patrolling instead of staying around.  
It really didn’t make Snow feel any better that Emma was staying away from the diner as well.  
She wasn’t stopping in for lunch or breakfasts, according to Red, instead choosing to live off of coffee and convenience store food.  
  
"Emma, can we talk?" Snow asked, trying to catch her daughter before work.  
  
"Can’t, stuff to do." Emma replied, pulling on her boots and lacing them quickly.  
  
"Charming said the stations not that busy."   
  
"Charming doesn’t know all that goes on. I’m Sheriff, not him." Emma told her, grabbing her coat.   
  
"Are you going to be home in time for dinner?" Snow ignored the name use, picking her battle for the moment.  
  
"Probably not." Emma zipped up her coat and opened the door, "Things to do."  
  
"Emma—" The door was slammed shut before Snow could say anything more.  
  
She let out a quiet growl of frustration trying to remember that it was probably a bad idea to chase after her.  
  
"Mom’s been acting weird," Henry’s voice almost made her jump in shock and she winced, hand over her heart.  
  
"Don’t scare me, it’s not nice." she scolded him with a smile, grabbing her own coat and pulling it on.  
  
"Sorry. She’s been acting all weird since last week when I was out with Dad. Is she getting sick?" Henry tugged at the knots of his shoelaces, trying to get them loose.  
  
"No, I don’t think so." Snow frowned. Emma wasn’t getting sick, when she was sick it was impossible to hide and she didn’t often try to.  
  
"Ugh," Henry pulled hard on the laces and nearly sent himself backwards onto the floor.  
  
"Here," Snow laughed and knelt down, taking the shoe from him, "What do you do to these things, glue them?" She asked, using her nails to loosen the knot till she could pull the laces free.  
  
"No, they just tie themselves. Maybe it’s a curse?" he suggested with a grin, taking his shoe back from her.  
  
"I doubt that. Hurry up," she told him, checking her watch, "We’ll be late for school."  
  
She’d have to talk to Emma afterwards.  
  


* * *

  
  
 ”Hey,” Snow smiled at her husband who sat with his feet up on the desk playing on the gameboy they’d gotten him to keep him from stealing Henry’s.  
  
"Hey," Charming set his feet back on the floor, "How was school?"  
  
"Fun as it ever is. Henry’s at the diner with Red. I thought I’d stop by and see how things were going here." She sat on the edge of the desk but looked back to Emma’s office where her daughter sat at her desk bent over files and writing something.  
  
"Well, once again she’s ignoring me in favour of ‘important work’ so I’m saving princesses with Mario." he gestured with the gameboy and set it down on the desk. "Any idea what’s got into her?"  
  
"None." Snow frowned, "I’ll figure it out though."  
  
"Wait, here?" Charming sat up straight, "Oh…she’s…you know what, I think I’m going to go see what Henry and Red are doing and let you two have a Mother daughter moment without me…interfering." He stood and kissed her, "Good luck."   
  
"I don’t need luck," Snow looked down at his paused game, "Henry’s gotten further than you."  
  
"He cheats." Charming slid his coat on and zipped it up part way. "I think he uses cheat codes."  
  
"You’re just mad you haven’t figured them out yet." Snow teased him as he walked off.  
  
"I’ll get them eventually!"  
  
Snow sat for a minute watching Emma through the window of the closed door. Emma looked tired, more stressed than usual and…sad.  
  
She stood and crossed to the door, opening it and peeking in, “Got a moment?”  
  
"Kind of busy." Emma didn’t even look up at her.  
  
It stung a bit, she had to admit. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Snow stepped inside anyway, shutting the door behind her out of habit.  
  
"I’m fine." Emma stressed the words, "Just…busy."  
  
"You’re working on reports from," Snow bent to look at the file, "1995. Emma, that’s not busy, that’s avoiding something."  
  
"Does it matter?" Emma asked defensively, giving her a glare Snow recognized as holding more than anger.  
  
"Yes, it matters."  
  
"Why?" Emma crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back a little in the chair, watching Snow where she stood  
  
 ”What bothers you bothers me.” she was getting exasperated but she was almost certain that was Emma’s intent. It was like hitting her head against a wall, trying to get Emma to talk but she knew that from past experience as Mary Margaret but she thought they were past that.

"Why?" Emma repeated.

Snow gave up on the calm route of things, raising her voice for the first time, “Because I’m your mother!” 

"Not for long." Emma scoffed, turning back to the files and papers spread on the desk.

"What?"  Snow whispered in confusion, trying hard to ignore the pain that statement brought.

"Congratulations though, Snow," Emma said almost flippantly, "you’re now the second longest home I’ve had right above prison."

"What are you talking about?" Snow demanded at a loss as to where Emma’s words were coming from.  "Are you planning on going back to Boston?" Emma hadn’t mentioned anything about that, any plans to leave or that she was unhappy. The thought she might have missed her daughter being in pain hurt.  
  
"I’m never the one that leaves, I’m always left behind." Emma was still staring down at the papers, pen clenched tightly in her hands. "It was only a matter of time, don’t know why I let myself think any different. Just…just leave me alone, okay?"  
  
"I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what you’re talking about." Snow stepped around the desk and put her hand on Emma’s shoulder, trying not to wince when Emma pulled away.  
  
"You’re leaving. All of you. You’re going back to your world and once again I’m left behind or sent away." There were tears in Emma’s eyes when she looked up at Snow contrasting the anger in her voice.  
  
"We’re not going anywhere," Snow tried to stress the words, touching Emma’s shoulder once again.  
  
"Don’t lie to me. Once the beans are ready you’re all going back through the portals. Henry wouldn’t stay behind if he has the choice and everyone else wants to go home just as much as you guys do." Emma wiped at the tear that fell almost angrily with her hand. "Should have known it was coming."  
  
"Emma, I’m not going anywhere…We’re not going anywhere," Snow corrected, trying not to cry herself. How could she have missed something this big bothering Emma? She’d known something was bugging her but something like this?   
  
"Yes you are, it’s all Charming can think about, I’ve caught him sketching out landscapes and designs for days in that book of his." Emma looked away, focusing on her shoes instead of Snow.  
  
 ”Yes, he wants to go back but…” Snow paused, trying not to sound too upset, “If you don’t want to go I’m not going.”  
  
"What?"  Emma looked back up at her, "But—"  
  
"I’ve already told him that. If you don’t want to go I’m not going. I’m not going to leave you ever again." She blinked back tears, "He knows I’m staying if you are…They know. They’d stay behind too, even if it means Henry doesn’t get to act like a real Prince."  
  
"You’d give up your land and stay, just like that?" Emma said in disbelief.  
  
"Yes," Snow said without hesitation. She’d give up anything if it meant keeping her daughter with her, keeping her family together and safe.   
  
"But it’s your home."  
  
"Home is wherever we are," She used the same words she had on Charming. "I just found you again, I’m not leaving you." She grabbed Emma’s hand, pulling her to her feet and into a hug. "We’re never leaving you again," Snow smiled finally when Emma hugged her back just as tightly, "If you want to go, we’ll go, if not then we’ll stay here."  
  
"Just that simple?" Emma asked, voice muffled a little by Snow’s jacket.  
  
"Yes, it really is. Our land can do without us, we can’t do without you." Snow felt the tears starting to fall finally and closed her eyes. "We’re not going anywhere without you," she promised, trying to make sure Emma believed her. "Ever."  
  



	16. Photos

"What’s this?" Snow glanced down at the wrapped present Emma had set next to her on the bed.

"A gift." Emma settled down behind Snow, "I was too late for your birthday, but I already had it together…"

"I don’t celebrate my birthday." Snow said, staring at the wall desolately.

"I know, I just…was the first time I got to give my Mom a birthday gift." Emma said softly, aware that it would guilt Snow into sitting up and looking, but also genuine in her statement.

She was right and Snow sat up, looking tiny in her pyjamas as she picked the gift up and set it on her lap, fingers toying with the silly bow Emma had stuck on. “Okay.” Snow said softly, sliding her fingers carefully under the tape to unwrap it. Red and Charming were conspicuously absent, as was Henry, obviously Emma had planned this somehow.

"Should have known you’d be the ‘slow opener’ type of person." Emma teased, moving to sit with her back against the headboard next to Snow.

"Let me guess, you tear the wrapper off in handfuls?" Snow shot back, almost smiling.

"No, actually, I do the same thing." Emma smiled at Snow as she finally slid the paper off and found a photo book.

"What’s this?" Snow asked, fingers tracing the soft white cover and the tiny pale pink designs in it.

"Um, okay, I know this is a little weird,” Emma started looking a little embarrassed, “but I called around a few old contacts I had that I actually kept in touch with or had numbers too and dug through my files I’d kept and tried to get as many old photos of me as I could and records." Emma said quickly, "It’s weird but I know you missed me growing up and—"   
  
Emma’s words were cut off as Snow pulled her into a hug, nearly crying, “Thank you.” Snow said, shifting backwards but keeping her right hand in Emma’s as she slowly opened the book with her left.   
  
The first photo in it wasn’t of Emma alone though, but one taken a few weeks back, before Manhattan. One Granny took of them all asleep curled up in the nest. Snow was leaning against Red in the photo, Charming on Red’s other side had Henry laying with his head on his chest and Emma was curled up with her head on Snow’s stomach, all looking peaceful.

The next page held a photo of Emma, obviously only a few hours old, dressed in a hospital onesie and blinking owlishly at the camera.

They sat for hours, looking at the book and Snow crying while Emma tried to explain certain situations, photos, outfits or drawings inside them — “I wanted to go as a Princess for Halloween but I also wanted to be scary so he made me a zombie Princess!”; “It was the 90’s, I’m sure Ruby wore worse.” — and by time the rest of their family returned Snow was back to smiling.

  
“Thank you,” Snow repeated, fingers resting on a photo of baby Emma trying to stand by holding herself up on a coffee table.  
  



	17. Prompt 3

  
There was so much sorrow, fear and anger in the room it nearly choked her the moment she walked in.  
  
Red wanted to throw her hands up and yell ‘I was only gone half a day!’ but the broken look in Emma’s eyes as she clung to Charming and the way Snow looked away from her to where Regina lay on the bed kept the rant inside.  
Charming reached a hand out towards Red from where he held Emma against him.  
  
She’d been trying to guard the school, with people they don’t like on the loose plotting it was always best to protect the kids, especially now Henry was there.  
  
One morning patrolling the school grounds and guarding— okay, yes, she may have let a FEW of the kids pet her but they were Henry’s friends and it was NOT because she was turning into a ‘house pet’ — and the entire world goes south.  
  
They hadn’t even called her phone until it was too late for her to do anything. Too late to locate Regina and keep Snow from pain, too late apparently to save Neal.  
  
"Hey, Pup," Red said quietly, laying her hand on Emma’s back between her shoulders.  
  
"School’s out soon," Charming told Red when Emma didn’t say anything. "Will you stay with her so I can get Henry?"  
  
"Yeah," Red nodded, "Of course."  
Henry, poor Henry. She hadn’t liked Neal, neither had Charming, but Henry loved him. His Dad…no kid deserved to lose their Dad.  
  
"I’ll be right back," Charming kissed Emma’s temple, "Red’ll stay with you though."  
  
Emma didn’t respond and Red tried not to wince as she recognized the pain in Emma’s eyes.  
  
"I’m not going anywhere," Red confirmed, moving her arm to wrap it around Emma’s waist, pulling her into a side hug so Charming could leave. She could smell blood, not a lot of it but enough and at once glance could see the splinters and cuts covering Emma’s palms. "Let’s go upstairs and get you cleaned up, okay?"  
  
Emma didn’t say a word, didn’t protest and let Red lead her upstairs. She was in shock, Red knew from experience, soon it’d wear off and the tears would start, the anger and despair.  
  
Red couldn’t help or stop the glare she sent in Regina’s direction from the top of the stairs though it was more aimed at Snow. Their Pup was hurting and she chose to sit with Regina instead? Regina the woman who’d hurt them all repeatedly.  
  
She got Emma sitting down on her bed before raiding Henry and Emma’s little bathroom for the first aid kit kept there.  
  
Between the house and the diner they had three all stocked just in case. The one at the diner tended to see the most use any more though.  
  
"What am I going to tell Henry?" Emma whispered when Red returned.  
  
"Oh, Pup…" Red set the kit down on Emma’s nightstand and sat down next to Emma. Almost immediately she found Emma in her arms, sobbing and holding on tight.  
There were no words, no platitudes or promises that could ease her pain so she didn’t even attempt to say anything, just held onto Emma tightly, rubbing her back in an attempt at comfort.  
  
It was hard enough to lose someone you loved, or even had loved, but to lose them in front of you and feel yourself to be responsible.  
  
Charming and Snow wouldn’t understand, couldn’t understand. They’d lost loved ones but all relatives, they’d never lost someone they were in love with and could count themselves lucky for it.  
  
When she’d killed Peter she’d been desolate, completely inconsolable once the shock and worn off and had hated herself for months. She’d hated Granny too, for keeping who she was from her. She’d eventually forgiven Granny, but still found herself thinking of Peter and filled with guilt sometimes when her mind wasn’t occupied.  
  
Eventually Emma’s sobs subsided to hiccups, her grip loosened a little.  
  
"S-sorry," Emma said against Red’s shoulder.  
  
"You’re fine," Red told her, "Don’t apologize."  
  
"He’s gone," Emma whispered, "He let go."  
  
"I know," Red closed her eyes against memories.  
  
"I loved him."  
  
She’d disliked Neal, she’d even threatened his life on occasion, but she hadn’t actually wanted him dead. “I know.” she said, the words sticking in her throat. She had known, she just hadn’t felt the need to point it out like Snow had. Maybe it was selfish, not wanting Emma to realize it and leave to live with Neal, taking Henry and leaving them all alone.  
  
"How do I tell Henry?"  
  
"I think Charming will, so you don’t have to." Red pulled away so she could look at Emma. She wiped the tears from Emma’s face with her thumb and dug into her pockets for a handkerchief. "Better to hear it from Gramps, I think. He won’t feel he has to be strong for you." She handed the handkerchief to Emma.  
  
"I messed your shirt up." Emma wiped at her eyes and blew her nose, trying not to cry again.  
  
Red made a slight face at her button up shirt that’s shoulder was now soaked, “Well, good thing about shirts in this land?” She told Emma, unbuttoning it and exposing the black tank top she wore underneath, “They’re easily removable and machine washable.” she tossed it towards the hamper and turned back to Emma, “Let me see your hands.”  
  
They weren’t a horrible mess, but they had to hurt. Her palms were filled with splinters, covered in scrapes, the right one worse than the left, and her let wrist bruised in a way that let Red know immediately was from a hand grabbing.  
  
She worked carefully using tweezers from the kit to remove each splinter, brushing her thumb gently over each little wound once they were out to try and ease some pain away.  
  
It took several minutes to get both her hands cleaned and free of debris from her ordeal and a few more to figure out band aids.  
  
Red finally settled for one across the biggest cut on her left hand but covered her right palm in gauze, taping it to hold it in place, due to the amount of cuts that were still bleeding some.  
  
"There," Red kissed the bandage on both hands and put everything back in the kit. "Better?"  
  
Emma gave a slight nod, more due to expectation than real relief.  
  
"I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think for once I do know how you feel." Red pulled Emma into another hug. "It feels like your whole world just got pulled out from underneath you, like something has shattered and no matter how hard you try to keep it together the pieces are slipping. I felt it too."  
  
"Does it ever stop?" Emma whispered the question. "Will it ever go away?"  
  
Red wanted to lie, to offer false reassurances but found herself unable to. “Not completely, but it fades. Some…Enough.” she rubbed Emma’s back. It would fade, but never completely. It’d been over thirty years for Red though, and she still found herself waking with Peter’s name on her lips, screaming for him to run.  
  


* * *

  
  
Henry hadn’t let go of Charming all day, ever since they returned home he’d been at his Gramp’s side besides a few moments to hug Emma and Regina.  
  
Red didn’t blame him in the least. Charming was a rock when it came to situations like this and was Henry’s favourite person in the world most days.  
  
Snow was still sitting talking with Regina though, and not with Emma and Henry. She was avoiding their gaze and was reminding Red of prey being faced down by her in form.  
  
With Henry glued to Charming and Emma staying close to Red it took longer than normal to build the nest but they did manage it. They’d offered to leave out the big mattress but Regina said not to when Henry requested in a tiny voice that she sleep with them.  
  
It was just after dark by time everyone was dressed in night clothes or at least more comfortable clothing - leaving Regina in borrowed pyjamas that made her look so much more pale and smaller than normal - and tucked away on the nest.  
  
It wasn’t late enough to sleep by any means, but with a DVD popped in the player and a quick call to Granny it was turned to a ‘movie night’.  
  
"I’ll be right back," Red told Emma softly, watching Snow move into the kitchen and start setting out cups for tea and cocoa. She made sure Emma’s blanket was tucked around her shoulders properly before she stood, crossing the nest and heading towards Snow.  
  
Charming was sitting near Emma, his back against the upturned couch with Henry curled up on his lap, one of Henry’s hands outstretched and holding on to Regina’s hand, forcing her to lay near Charming. She watched him reach out his hand and grab their daughter’s in a gesture of comfort.  
  
"Snow."  
  
"I don’t need any help, I’m fine." Snow said, putting a pot on the stove and digging into the fridge.  
  
"You might be but she’s not. Why is she here? In our bed?" Red asked, keeping her voice low.  
  
"Regina’s hurt, she needs help." Snow replied, not meeting Red’s eyes.  
  
"Fine. Take her to the hospital. Gods know Whale’s got magic hands."  
  
"Be nice, she needs our help. It’s not safe to leave her where they could get to her."  
  
"I’ll be nice when you stop ignoring Emma in favour of the woman who keeps trying to kill us." Red barely kept her voice down.  
  
"I’m not ignoring her." Snow denied, "I…Regina needs me."  
  
"Emma needs you more. She’s just lost the person she loves, she needs her Mom." Red insisted.  
  
"She has you."  
  
"She…" Red lowered her voice again, trying not to distract them from the TV. She grabbed Snow’s arm just tight enough to make Snow look at her, "She needs you more than Regina does. What’s wrong?"  
  
"It’s my fault." Snow said softly, "She came to me, told me her suspicions and I brushed them off because Neal was her ex and I thought…I thought… I don’t even know what I thought."  
  
"Snow, no one would have thought it true." Red told her.  
  
"You believed her," Snow countered.  
  
"I don’t-…didn’t like Neal." Red corrected herself. "You’re no more at fault for this than Granny was for Peter."  
  
Snow shook her head, “How do I face her when I let her down?”  
  
Red hugged Snow close, “Same as you always do. Just go talk to her, give her a hug and stop ignoring her. That hurts more than anything. She doesn’t blame you.. Trust me.”  
  
"I…once I get the drinks made, I’ll talk to her." Snow promised.  
-  
Granny arrived with a box full of meals from the diner and her crossbow around the same time Snow finished making all the drinks and passed them out.  
  
"Granny, you don’t need your crossbow." Red sighed, setting it down on the counter facing the door in case it went off.  
  
"Hell I don’t," Granny scoffed, "You’ve got to protect your family and unlike you I don’t have claws to do that any more."  
  
"Yes, Granny," Red barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes, taking the cardboard box and setting it down on the nest before handing out the white Styrofoam boxes it held. "Does it matter who gets what?"  
  
"They’re all grilled cheese. Seems to be one thing you all eat just fine." Granny hug up her jacket, placing her shoes near the door as well before joining them.  
  
Everyone fine and safe, Red thought. Henry was holding on to Charming still, refusing to let go to take his dinner and Regina was sitting up now looking less pale.  
  
Emma was curled into Snow, her head on Snow’s shoulder, wrapped in both her blanket and Snow’s arms.  
  
All safe.  
  
For how long?

* * *

  
  
They were midway through the third “Ice Age” movie when Henry finally fell asleep. He didn’t let go of Charming fully but he did allow himself to be shifted so he was laying next to Regina – already asleep – with one arm around her, his hand holding tightly to Charming’s even in sleep. Snow sat on Charming’s other side, mostly asleep with her head on his thigh, tired from the spells effects till.  
  
Granny had fallen asleep near the edge, thankfully not waking when Red took her crossbow to move it out of reach.  
  
"What do we do, Red?" Charming asked softly, watching her with a sad look she hadn’t seen since he’d found out Emma was the saviour.  
  
"What we always do," Red said, playing with Emma’s hair when the woman made a noise in her sleep and shushing her gently till she fell back into silence. "Fight like hell and hold on to our family." She rubbed her hand across Emma’s back, smiling when Emma shifted and snuggled closer into her.  
  
"It’s all we can do."  
  



	18. Blankets

"Emma? Emma, what’s wrong?" Red asked fearfully, finding the blonde curled up crying around her blanket on the couch.

"It got ripped." Emma managed to say, face hidden mostly by her blanket. "My blanket got ripped."

"Let me see?" Red asked softly, sitting down next to her and gently edging the blanket out of Emma’s grasp so she could look. It wasn’t a big tear, just a few stitches long at best but…"Come on, we’ll ask Granny to fix it. She made it, she can do that." Red stood up and held out her hand, pulling Emma to her feet, "Just like new, I bet."

"I tore it." Emma said blankly, clutching the blanket again.

"It’ll be fine." Red assured her, grabbing her car keys.

* * *

  
"What’s wrong?" Granny asked the moment they entered the inn, spotting Emma’s red eyes and how she was letting Red hold onto her hand without protest.

"Emma’s blanket got ripped." Red said, holding the baby blanket out to her, "I told her you could fix it, right, Granny?"

Granny looked at the small tear, tracing it with her fingers. It was simple enough to fix, “Yes. Ten minutes and I’ll have it back to you. Why don’t you sit down and have something to drink while you wait.” Granny suggested, watching Emma who looked about a step away from crying. Red smiled gratefully and led Emma to sit down while Granny went to find her sewing kit.

"This is stupid, I’m sorry." Emma muttered as she sat down at one end of the couch, pulling her knees up in front of her protectively.

"It’s not stupid at all." Red assured her, sitting down next to her, "It’s your blanket."

"It’s the only thing I’ve had my whole life. Only thing I have…had of my parents." Emma bit her thumbnail nervously, "Only proof someone might have wanted me."

"We did want you, so badly." Red rested her hand on top of Emma’s to still her movements. "We’re here now and we’re not going anywhere without you.”

"Sorry." Emma sighed, wiping at her eyes where tears had started to well up again.  
  


“It’s okay.” 

—

"Here you go, good as new." Granny presented the newly fixed blanket to Emma and watched with a smile as the young woman immediately ran her hands over the sewn area.

"Thank you!" Emma nearly yelled, jumping to her feet and hugging Granny tightly.

"You’re welcome." Granny said, hugging her back and looking at Red who smiled despite looking a little lost and sad. "I’m surprised it’s never needed fixed before. I made a blanket that withstood two worlds, an entire battle, countless moves and twenty-eight years,” Granny said, sounding smug and proud of herself, “I am good.”

"I have to keep it safe," Emma said, sounding like a child as she hugged it to her chest, "It’s all I have…had"

* * *

  
Snow opened the door to the apartment, and shut it behind her quietly. Henry and Charming were ‘bonding’ at the stables which gave her a few quiet minutes till everyone returned. Quiet she really liked after a day full of screaming ten year olds in a small area. 

She almost froze in place when she looked at the couch, however. Red was laying on it, spread out on her back but what made her really stop was Emma. Emma was laying on top of Red, curled up with her head tucked under Red’s chin, wrapped not just in her baby blanket, but in Red’s arms as well.

-

"Grams, guess what!" Henry yelled as he entered the apartment at a run.

"Shh!" Snow shushed him, "Don’t wake them up." She motioned to the couch.

Charming looked stunned as Snow had felt and shook his head, shutting the door quietly, “Any idea…?” he motioned like she had, lacking words.

"Not a one." Snow looked worried, "Crying, maybe?"

"Must’ve been." Charming observed, noticing Emma’s eyes.

"We’ll ask later. Henry, go change before dinner and wash your hands…with soap!” She added, “Charming, help me out in here?"

* * *

  
There was a loud bang from the bathroom as Henry dropped something and Emma whimpered on the couch. They watched as Red shifted in her sleep, bringing one hand up to brush Emma’s hair and murmured something they couldn’t catch soothingly.

Emma settled again though she seemed to wrap her arms a little tighter around Red and turned her head to hide most of her face against Red’s chest and under her blanket.  
Snow sniffed back tears and pretended not to see Charming wipe at his own eyes, focusing on fixing dinner instead.

—-

"Red? Emma, sweetie?" Snow brushed the hair back from Emma’s face, pulling the blanket down so she could see her daughter, "It’s time to get up."

"Mmm. Mom?" Emma whispered sleepily, still not fully conscious.

Snow swallowed hard, fighting back tears, “Yes. It’s dinner time.” She brushed her fingers across the side of Emma’s face again and looked up as Emma started to fully wake up, catching Red’s eyes watching her.

Red smiled at her and reached a hand out, squeezing Snow’s lightly.  
  



	19. Lies

  
"Is he mine!" Neal yells again, angry and upset.

"Mom?" Henry questions, voice quivering.

"No," Emma lies easily as taking a breath, "He’s not."

Moments after the words come out she knows it’s not a lie. Henry isn’t Neal’s. Henry is hers – and Regina’s though she’s loath to admit it some days -, Henry is Snow and Red and Charming and Granny’s. Henry belongs to those who raised him, who care for him and who have risked their lives for him. Henry belongs to their weird little pack that most would laugh at, not Neal.

"What?" Neal sounds almost heartbroken for a moment.

"I knew it," Henry lurches forward and grabs Emma into a tight hug, looking back at Neal with his head pressed against Emma’s ribs, "My Dad was a fireman, a hero who died."

Henry tells Neal, clearly upset at the man for ‘lying’.

"Your Dad is a real hero." Emma agrees quietly, thinking of her own father who is the only father figure Henry has ever had.

"You cheated on me?" Neal demands angrily, hands clenching at his sides.

"You put me in prison." Emma counters, not addressing the lie. "Henry, let’s sit outside for a minute so they can talk, okay?"

"Okay." Henry doesn’t let go of her till he absolutely has to so he can climb through the window.

* * *

  
"I knew you wouldn’t lie to me." Henry’s smile is bright as he leans against her side, arm around her middle still. "My Dad is a hero, not a thief."

Emma nods, not feeling any guilt or the cold stomach she normally gets when she tells lies like this. “Your Dad was…” she picks through all the choice words she wants to call Neal and settles on one that could describe Charming, “Amazing.”

Henry smiles happily, holding onto his Mom and ignoring the yelling and loud voices inside.

* * *

 

"I lied." are the first words Emma says that night when everyone is bedded down and asleep for the time being. Gold is in his own hotel room next door, Neal at his apartment and – despite the fact there are two beds – Henry’s sprawled out in her bed, the comforter from the other bed tossed across it as well.

"About what?" Snow questions, "Oh, and we met a friend of yours today."

"Who?" Emma asks, making sure she kept her voice down.

"Giant named Anton that the Dwarves think should be called ‘Tiny’. Apparently your Uncle and his..woman screwed him over and killed all his family. He thought it was your father but we managed to convince him otherwise." Snow sounds tired but almost amused too.

"Brilliant." Emma groans and sinks down on the bathroom tile, making sure the door is shut tight and Henry really is asleep. "I lied about Henry’s dad."

"What? You mean when you called earlier?" Snow sounds confused.

"No, later than that. Neal started yelling, asked if Henry was his, Henry asked if it was true, I said no."

"Oh, Emma…"

"Neal…well, he’s had a few choice names for me today that even Killian wouldn’t use and Henry’s clinging to me protectively." Emma sighs, rubbing her hand over her face, "But he’s not his, not really. I’m the one who walks him to school and makes sure he’s in bed on time, you’re the one who helps him with his school work and makes sure he brushes his teeth, Mama’s the one who makes him lunch every single day and tells bedtime stories far past bedtime, Dad’s..Dad’s everything a Dad should be for both of us, - Granny has volunteered to teach us both how to shoot, by the way – and God knows everything Regina has done for him over the years. He’s ours, not his."

There’s quiet on the other line then she can almost hear the smile in her mother’s voice, “Yeah, he is. I’ll tell Red and Charming for you, okay?”

"Thanks."

"No problem. Just be aware that this means Red’s probably going to be trying to groom you two more often because now she knows who else Henry smells like and that needs fixed and you get associated by proxy to that along with her worrying."

"I can handle being groomed, I can’t handle his heart being broke. Love you, mom."

"Love you too, baby. Get some sleep."

Emma hangs up and exits the bathroom, setting her phone on the nightstand and crawling into bed. She’s barely settled when Henry rolls over and curls into her in his sleep.

No, he’s not Neal’s, Emma thinks as she absently combs his hair with her fingers. He’s theirs and Neal isn’t getting near him.  
  



	20. Colds

  
"That was a normal sneeze!" Emma said loudly, pointing at Snow almost accusingly, "I am not getting a cold. I am going to work because I am not getting sick, that was just a sneeze."

"Mhmm." Snow smiled as Emma hurried out the door.

"What’s with her?" Red asked both amused and confused.

"She’s getting sick and won’t admit it. This time tomorrow she’ll be crying on the couch." Snow grabbed her car keys, "I’ll stop by the pharmacy and get some medication and popsicles."

"Wait, crying? Why crying?" Red demanded worriedly.

"When your Pup gets sick she turns into a two year old complete with the whole ‘Mommy hold me’ whining." Snow told her, "Though she won’t actually ask flat out for cuddles. Mary Margaret dealt with her while sick a handful of times. Oh! And hide the booze, please?"

"Why the booze?"

"Emma likes to mix nyquil and vodka."

* * *

  
She was not getting sick. It was just a few sneezes. Just a tickle in her throat. That didn’t mean she was getting sick.

Getting sick wasn’t a possibility when there was evil to fight, a Sheriff’s office to run and a 10 year old to deal with.

She was not getting sick.

Even if the office was too hot despite Charming looking comfortable and okay maybe her head was hurting a little.

She made it all the way till the end of the day before the first coughing fit that had her doubled over.

"You okay?" Charming asked, offering her a bottle of water.

"I’m fine. Just a cough," Emma complained, rubbing her throat with her hand, "I’m not sick."

"Sounds like you are." Charming touched her forehead with the back of his hand, "You’re a little warm."

"I’m fine. I’m not sick. I just need vodka and a nap."

"How are those things in any way going to help?"

"Vodka makes me sleepy."

"Help if you’re sick, I mean."

"I’m not sick!" Emma protested, pulling on her coat. "I’m perfectly healthy—" Her words were cut off by more coughing. "I’m fine." She nearly whined when she could breathe again.

"Maybe you should go see Whale." Charming suggested, clearly unhappy at that thought.

“‘m fine.” Emma repeated, trying to breathe deeply and evenly, “Perfectly fine.”

"Uh huh…"

* * *

  
"Emma’s sick," Charming said first thing as they entered the apartment.

"I am not sick!" Emma hung up her coat, "I’m perfectly fine and—"

"About to turn blue coughing every five minutes." Charming countered, "She’s sick." he told Snow pointedly.

"I know." Snow nodded in agreement.

"Not sick." Emma said sulkily, sitting down on the couch. "I’m fine."

"Uh huh," Snow opened the freezer and produced one of the plastic tube popsicles, cutting the top off and wrapping it in a paper towel. She crossed the room and handed it to Emma, briefly pausing to press her hand against Emma’s forehead before returning to preparing dinner. "You’re sick."

"I am not!" Emma whined, sulkily sucking on her popsicle.

"Mhmm," Snow didn’t say a word, but Charming could see the little smirk.

“‘m ‘ot!” Emma whined around the popsicle, “‘m ‘i’e.”

"Of course, honey."

"Hmph!"  
  


* * *

  
“‘m not hungry.” Emma said when Snow tried to get her to come sit down to eat.

"No? Not even a little?" Snow brushed her hand across Emma’s forehead again. She was a lot warmer now and she looked really sleepy.

"Uh uh." Emma shook her head but leaned into the touch.

"Do you want to try some?"

"No." Emma closed her eyes.

"Do you just want to go to bed then?" Snow ran her fingers over Emma’s hair, watching her daughter finally hit the ‘I’m sick’ wall.

"Uh huh."

"Okay, c’mon." Snow stood and helped Emma to her feet, watching her stumble some. "Daddy, come help her upstairs please?" Snow gestured to Charming, "So she doesn’t fall."

"Won’t fall." Emma said, already starting to slump down and almost fall onto the couch.

She would have had Charming not caught her.

"Just a precaution, humor me. I’ll bring you some nyquil in just a moment."

"When did she get sick?" Henry asked, watching Charming help Emma upstairs.

"Sometime this morning." Snow grabbed the nyquil from the medicine cabinet and measured it out into a needleless syringe. "She’ll be fine. She just gets knocked for a loop when she’s sick."

"I think maybe she’s avoiding veggies." Red winked at Henry, poking the broccoli Snow had made with dinner.

"That’s probably why she gets sick." Snow told her, heading upstairs, "Eat, no hiding broccoli."

"Can’t even feed it to the dog." she heard Henry mutter then a yelp from downstairs and she had to laugh to herself.

“‘m fine.” Emma said sleepily, sitting up on the edge of her bed, only Charming’s hand keeping her steady.

"You need sleep." Snow told her, "Thank you, Charming. You can go eat, I’ll get her settled."

"Sleep and feel better," Charming kissed the top of Emma’s head and made sure Snow had her before he left.

"Okay, Princess, let’s get you ready for bed." Snow set the syringe down on the nightstand and dug into Emma’s drawers for a pair of light weight pajamas.

Emma didn’t get normal sick. If she was sick it was full on fever, coughing so hard she might make herself sick and passing out sick.

“‘m okay.” Emma mumbled, eyes still closed, swaying a little in place on the bed as she fought sleep.

"I know," Snow placated her. setting the clothes down next to her on the bed. "Arms up."

"Can do myself." Emma did as told though, letting Snow help her change into pajamas and not protesting till it came time for nyquil. "Tastes bad." Emma muttered, swallowing hard to try and rid the taste of it from her mouth, "Rotten liquorish."

"I know," Snow set the syringe aside and guided Emma to lay down, pulling the bottom sheet over her and putting the baby blanket over that to keep her from getting too hot.

"Sleep. If you need me just call, okay?"

“‘m’kay.” Emma snuggled into the blankets, already half asleep.

"Love you," Snow kissed Emma’s temple, straightening the blanket before standing up and grabbing the syringe.

"Love you too." Emma mumbled.

* * *

  
"Mom get’s sick like I do." Henry said, eating his dinner without the least bit of worry, "My Mom er other Mom says that I get knocked flat by ever virus within ten miles." he sounded almost like he was bragging.

"Er…" Charming looked at Snow, "Think he should be around here then?"

"He’s already exposed," Snow sighed, taking her seat at the table after dropping the syringe into the sink. "Tell me if you start feeling bad." She ordered him.

He made a noise of agreement around pasta and gave a thumbs up.

"So she’ll be fine?" Red asked, looking upstairs worriedly.

Snow nodded, “A few days of her crying and whining and she’ll be fine. I called in a personal day tomorrow already so I can be here.”

"I might as well." Red bit her thumbnail, eyes still on the stairs.

"I get to play Sheriff for a few days. Cool," Charming grinned.

"Does that mean you get the big shiny badge?" Henry asked.

"No, means I get to mess with the thermostat and choose the radio station. Small victories." he said happily, making Henry laugh.

* * *

  
Everything hurt. Every part of her ached was the first thing she realized when she woke up.

It was only seconds before a major coughing fit started forcing Emma to half sit up on the bed to keep breathing.

"Mom?" Henry called from the other side of the room.

“‘m ‘kay.” Emma managed, trying to keep her eyes open and her breathing even but it was hard.

Henry climbed out of bed and pulled the curtain back, crossing to her side of the room and holding out his water bottle for her.

She drank the cold water gratefully, letting it soothe her sore throat for a few moments. “Thanks.”

"You’re welcome." He pressed his hand to her forehead, "You’re really hot."

"I’m fine," She told him, placing her hand over his. "Just need some sleep."

"Grams said to wake her up if you woke up."

"You don’t need to wake her up—"

"She’s already here," Snow interrupted from the doorway, smiling a little at them.

"No, not the evil liquid." Emma whined, spotting the needless syringe.

"Yup. Take it or I make you." Snow offered amiably.

"How can she make you?" Henry questioned.

Emma took the syringe and squirted it into her mouth, swallowing it as fast as possible and making a face. “She’s mean.” Emma told him, gulping more water.

"How?"

"She’ll plug your nose, squirt it in when you have to breathe and cover your mouth till you take it. And that’s just the Mary Margaret method!"

"Try me now and see what happens." Snow smiled sweetly, taking back the syringe.

* * *

  
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Snow asked when Emma stumbled down stairs the next morning.

Emma made a whiny noise and flopped onto the couch, baby blanket around her shoulders.

Snow laughed quietly and brushed her hair from her face, kissing her forehead. “Too warm still.”

"Human ‘mometer." Emma mumbled, not quite protesting.

"Mhmm, Mom thing." Snow winked, "I’ll get you something to eat and some cough syrup."

"Food is gross." Emma whined.

"Okay, now I know for sure you’re sick." Red said in surprise. "Since when is food gross?"

"Coughing hurts." Emma said in response.

Red sat down on the couch by Emma and tried to hide her surprise when the girl moved to use her lap as a pillow. “I’m sorry.” Red said, resting her hand on Emma’s head,

“You’ll feel better soon.” She met Snow’s eyes and smiled.

"She’s a cuddler," Snow said quietly enough only Red could hear.

"Think you can eat something?" Red toyed with Emma’s hair.

"Food is gross." Emma repeated.

"How about oatmeal?" Snow offered, digging into the cupboards and sticking water into the microwave to boil.

"Ungh."

"We have the kind with peach pieces." Snow offered.

"Ungh," Emma pulled her blanket up over her head and rolled over, hiding her face against Red’s stomach and under her blanket.

"I don’t think that’s going to block her medication and food attempts." Red told her, patting her back lightly and toying with her hair.

"Not at all." Snow agreed cheerfully, "Be good and you can have a popsicle after you eat some."

Emma made a whining noise again and Red couldn’t help but smile, “That’s a good bribe. Especially cherry ones.”

Emma just grumbled.

"She’s more a fan of orange." Snow brought over the next dose of cough syrup and patted Emma’s back, "take it and I’ll get you something to get rid of the taste in a moment.

Emma looked mutinous for a moment but dutifully opened her mouth and swallowed the syrup.  
"Ugh," She complained, wiping her mouth with her hand.

"I know, I know, ‘rotten oranges’." Snow patted her back again. "You’re very lucky you have this and not the concoctions Granny and Doc would make in the forest."

Emma’s response was to pull her blanket back up over her head to hide again.

Red patted her back, “Trust me. Their medication would scar anyone who takes it.”

"Ungh." Emma pressed her forehead against Red’s stomach, wrapping her arm around Red to hold her close.

"Human teddybear." Snow commented again quietly.

Red didn’t feel the need to protest.

* * *

  
"C’mon, sit up and eat a bit." Snow coaxed Emma who just whined in protest, trying to hide against Red. "Just a bit so you don’t get sick with just cough syrup in your stomach. You can have a popsicle after."

"Food’s gross. Hurts." Emma stated plainly.

"Oatmeal doesn’t hurt. Just a bit?"

Emma sat up grumpily, keeping her blanket around her shoulders and leaning against Red, “Get sick.”

"You won’t get sick if you eat a little bit." She handed the bowl to Emma, spoon stuck in it. "Eat a bit for me?"

Emma scowled, pushing the oatmeal around with her spoon for a minute before taking a bite. “Ow.” She muttered around it.

"It’s hot, I didn’t think I had to warn you of that."

"Stupid food." Emma muttered, taking another bite and looking like a two year old forcibly fed vegetables.

She managed half the bowl before she pushed it away grumpily, setting it on the coffee table and curling up into a ball thanks to a coughing fit.

"Okay," Red rubbed her back lightly till the coughing stopped, "You good?"  
 

"No." Emma said sulkily, resting her head on her knees.

Snow took her bowl away, setting it on the counter and changing it out for an orange Popsicle in a tube. “You’ll get less sick. Let’s put on a movie and you can rest.” Snow brushed her hair with her fingers. “Any preference?”

"Shrek?" Emma asked quietly around her popsicle.

"Right, the bastardized Ogres. One, two or three?"

Emma held up one finger and leaned against Red, sucking on her popsicle.

"Bastardized Ogres?" Red questioned.

"You’ve never seen Shrek?"

"I was more an ‘Ice Age’ fan."

"Just wait, you’ll understand." Snow shook her head. "I’d blame Disney but this one isn’t them."

* * *

  
"You weren’t kidding about the cuddling," Red said quietly.

Emma had shifted during the movie and used Snow as a pillow, both curled up on one side of the couch. Emma was fast asleep and had been for a while now.

"No, it’s funny, isn’t it?" Snow asked, playing with Emma’s hair. "She’s normally very standoffish but the moment she’s sick and acknowledges it she turns into a little koala."

"She was like this with Mary Margaret too?" Red questioned, rubbing Emma’s back with her hand.

"Yes. More embarrassed about it but yes." Snow nodded, "Mary Margaret thought it was cute, so do I."

"Popsicles, kids movies and cuddles. Who wouldn’t find it cute?" Red teased. "Oh, and excessive medication."

"It’s not excessive. If she doesn’t keep up on it she’ll get horrible cough attacks that will make her sick to her stomach. I’m not sure who she inherited that from." Snow sighed, brushing Emma’s hair with her fingers and tucking it behind her ear when Emma grumbled in her sleep, clinging a little tighter to Snow.

"Not me," Red stuck her tongue out, "I’m the picture of health."

"Yeah, I don’t remember being sick like this so it must be Charming’s fault."

"Don’t we always blame him?"

"Yes."

* * *

  
"Hey, told Granny that Emma was sick so she sent soup." Charming said, handing Snow the takeaway container. "She doing any better?"

"She’s sleeping a lot and complaining so…par for the course." Snow set the container on the counter, kissing her husband lightly in greeting, "Henry?"

"My teacher is mean." Henry told her pointedly, kicking his shoes off and hanging his backpack and coat up.

"Oh? Why?"

"She’s not you." Henry shrugged, heading upstairs to change into his day clothes.

"Apparently Grams is the only teacher he likes." Charming told her. "I fear for the sanity of his new teacher."

Snow tried not to laugh, “I miss him in my class too but he’s going to have to get used to it.”

"Mhmm, you say so." Charming hung his coat up and unlaced his boots, setting them near the door and fixing Henry’s shoes so they were in front of the door. He walked across to the couch where Emma was using Red as a pillow.

"Help me out," Red told him, making a face, "I have to pee but I don’t want to move her while Snow’s busy."

Charming chuckled and knelt down next to the couch. He brushed his fingers on the side of Emma’s face to catch her attention and wake her a little, “Hey, Emma? Emma?”

"Mhmm?" Emma whined a little.

"C’mere for a minute, let Mama move." Charming helped her sit up so Red could move and took her place, pulling Emma to lay on his chest still mostly asleep. "You still feeling poorly?" he asked, rubbing her back with his hand.

"Mhmm."She hid her face against his chest, pulling her blanket tighter around her.

"I’m sorry you’re not feeling good," Charming adjusted so he was recling back against the arm of the couch, Emma cuddled against his couch as Red took of gratefully for the bathroom. "Did you have your medicine?"

Emma nodded some, wrapping her arms around him instead of the blanket and falling back asleep almost instantly.

"Congratulations, Daddy, you’ve become human teddybear number three," Snow smiled at him as he adjusted the blanket around her. "I don’t think you get to move any time soon."

"I’m good," he smiled at her, rubbing Emma’s back lightly. "I don’t think I need to move any time soon."

* * *

  
"Okay, all your bags ready?" Snow asked Henry, zipping up his backpack. "You have everything you need?"

He was heading to Regina’s after school for the weekend, even though it wasn’t technically her weekend, with Emma sick it was smarter.

"Yes, Grams. I have clothes there too." he told her, tugging his shoes on.

"I know, I’m just making sure. Do you have your lunch?"

"Oh, fridge." Henry realized.

Snow rolled her eyes and opened the fridge, producing his Tron lunchbox that Red had packed. “Behave, no acting up and have fun. Call us if you need anything.”

"I will. Take care of Mom," He said, hugging her tightly.

"I will."  
  


* * *

  
"Feeling any better?" Red asked, sitting down next to Emma on the couch.

"No." Emma said unhappily around a popsicle. Her entire body hurt from coughing, her throat felt like it was on fire, her head was throbbing and she was far too hot.

"At least you’re not sleeping as much." Red offered, touching her forehead with the back of her hand.

"I would be if you didn’t hide all the booze and nyquil." Emma muttered. Her preferred method of dealing with sickness was to just sleep till it was over with however Mary Margaret - and now Snow it appeared - disapproved of that method.

"You can have nyquil at nights. That’s what it’s for." Red told her sternly, toying with Emma’s curls.

Emma grumbled but leaned into Red anyway.

They’d seen all the Shrek movies twice and had since moved on to Ice Age and it’s sequels. Currently the little squirrel beast was running for it’s life and an acorn…again.

"Since you’re not feeling good I guess you’ll be staying home from the meeting, huh?"

"Meeting?" Emma frowned, trying to remember."Wha…oh."

That meeting.

The ‘we’re all Royals let’s figure this out’ meeting that she as Sheriff was supposed to attend.

"Shit."

"No cursing." Red scolded her lightly.

"I have to go!" Emma said worriedly, "Dad’s going as King person and Mom’s the same and you act all Knight like and try to outwit Frederick and—"

"I’m sure I’ll represent the Sheriff’s office just fine for one night," Red said dryly, "I did work there."

"For a few days before you quit and that was Ruby."

"True, but I think I count." Red rubbed Emma’s shoulder comfortingly, "I can manage it, you can stay home and rest. Anything real big or important I’ll call and run the details by you. Okay?"

"This sucks." Emma muttered, biting down on the popsicle in annoyance only to squeak in pain and grab the top of her head.

"That wasn’t very smart," Red snorted, watching Emma grumble louder.

“‘hut up.” Emma managed around ice.

"Very brilliant."

Emma just glared.

* * *

  
"There’s soup in the microwave if you’re hungry, you can have some more cough syrup at nine if we’re not back and there are still popsicles in the freezer," Snow listed as she pulled on her coat, zipping it up.

"Mhmm." Emma said sulkily from the couch. She’d gone all her life perfectly fine without physical contact but now the moment she got sick she turned into a toddler. She blamed Mary Margaret, frankly, for enabling it.

"Don’t pout, we’ll be back as soon as we can." Charming grabbed his own coat and pulled it on. "Watch a movie and get some rest." he told her, kissing her on top of the head and grabbing his truck keys.

"Hmph." She pulled her blanket closer around her shoulders.

"Whiny," Red teased, checking her temperature and giving her a hug, "We’ll be back as soon as we can."

"Yeah, yeah." Emma muttered, resting her face on her hand.

"Be good, stop sulking." Snow kissed her forehead, brushing her hair away from her face, "And no going near any appliances other than the microwave because you’re bored and sulking. I don’t want to come home to another broken toaster."

* * *

  
She sulked for the first hour, ate three Popsicles and glared at ‘the Incredibles’.

The second hour she gave up the search for booze - Red had apparently hidden it far too well - and actually ate a little of the soup before a coughing fit made her give up on that attempt.

By the third hour she was back to sulking and trying not to fall asleep till they got home.

After hour four she gave up, changed into her pajamas, grabbed her baby blanket and went to bed.

* * *

  
"I’m betting a broken toaster and a drained bottle of nyquill." Red wagered as Charming unlocked the door.

"Red!"

"What? She gets destructive when bored or lonely. She’s like a toddler or a chihuahua."

"Really? Dog jokes from ‘Wolf Lord’?" Snow sent her a disapproving look.

"What? It’s true."

Their meeting had ran over by two hours, leaving them far later than they thought getting home but when you had several kingdoms all condensed with all their rulers hanging around it took a while to get everything set and settled.

Most seemed content to sit back and let Charming and Snow continue running things though Abigail had laid claim to working with Regina at the Mayor’s office given how uneasy people were with Regina still in charge.

Those not content to sit back had been dealt with easily with a reminder of who was at the top of everything back in their World, who had the biggest army, most land and oldest Kingdoms.

They would have added wealth to that list but Midas had laughed so hard he’d nearly fallen out of his chair.

"Kitchen’s a mess but no broken things," Snow observed, shaking her head at Emma who somehow managed to destroy a kitchen without breaking anything.

"Uh, don’t think she was feeling well enough to break things." Red commented.

"What makes you say that?"

Red nodded towards their bed.

Emma lay curled up on it, head on Snow’s pillow wrapped in her baby blanket, wearing one of Charming’s flannel shirt’s he’d gotten rid of.

"Oh, Emma," Snow sighed.

She knew that act well, sometimes when you’re sick the best place to sleep was Mommy’s bed.

"Should I move her?" Charming offered, looking reluctant to do so.

"No, leave her. She’s getting actual sleep that she needs." Snow told him, taking off her coat and shoes to leave by the door.

* * *

  
"So, who takes the couch?" Charming asked once they were all in pajamas and ready for bed, holding his hand out in an unmistakeable gesture for ‘rock-paper-scissors’ with Red.

"No one," Red stretched, popping her back and in the blink of an eye instead of a human there was a sleepy looking wolf.

"Oh, so many dog jokes about sleeping at the foot of the bed." Charming teased, climbing into his side of the bed and pulling the covers up.

Red made a noise of annoyance but crawled onto the end of the bed, stretching out for a moment so Snow could get settled on her side before curling up, her head on Emma’s feet.

"Night," Charming said softly, turning off the lamp.

* * *

  
"Hey, feeling any better?" Snow asked sleepily when Emma started to wake up.

Emma nodded against Snow, curled up tight with her arms around her, “Mhmm.”

"Think it’s magic," Snow teased quietly, cuddling Emma back, "Dad’s shirt, baby blankets and the big bed work wonders, huh?"

"Vodka and nyquil are better still." Emma mumbled.

Snow laughed quietly, “Next time steal Red’s socks and it’ll be better than Vodka and Nyquil.”  
  



	21. Inheritance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL AU

“I don’t want to make things awkward,” Snow said slowly, watching as Charming lay stretched out on his side across the floor playing with Emma, “But we do need to think about how we handle inheritance.” she admitted, biting her nail in worry.

“Easy,” Charming shrugged and brushed his fingers over Emma’s belly to make the six month old giggle and picked up the teddy bear, moving it closer then farther away so she had to track it with her eyes, “Emma’s your first born, she gets your Kingdom by birth.” He touched the bear down so its nose touched Emma’s then pulled it back, gaining a squeal of delight, “Which means Red’s first born gets George’s Kingdom upon my passing.”

“Really?” Red looked shocked, one hand pressed over her stomach where the baby was bouncing around doing some sort of dance it felt like.

“Of course!” Charming looked up at her with a confused look, “Why wouldn’t he? She? Whichever we have.” He finished and returned to playing with Emma.

“I’m not a royal.” Red said softly, “I didn’t think he’d get…titles.”

“Hey,” Snow moved to her side and pressed her hand next to Red’s on Red’s stomach, feeling the baby moving around, “Our kids, no matter who carries them, are all royals, Red. You’re carrying a Prince and there’s no mistaking that.”

“Hah! So it is a boy.” Charming said triumphantly, leaning over and blowing a raspberry against Emma’s neck to make her giggle.

“No, it’s going to be a girl.” Snow stuck her tongue out at him.

Red swallowed hard, trying not to cry, “Okay. He’s…She’s…Royal.”

“Yup.” Snow kissed Red happily, “Get used to it, you’re going to be a Crowned Prince’s mother!”

“Oh…Okay, I might be sick.” Red paled at the thought.


	22. Clocks

Henry frowned part way through their movie, “What do I have to learn?”

“Huh?” Red turned her head away from the screen to pay attention to Henry.

“You said earlier I had a lot to learn about my Dad. He’s my Dad, he lives in New York and he can fly a pirate ship. What else do I need to know?“ Henry looked puzzled and annoyed.

"Like…How’d he meet your Mom?” Red asked.

“I…don’t know.” Henry frowned.

“How long were they together?”

“Not sure.”

“Why did they split up?” Red continued, “and why didn’t he know about you?”

“Because she kept me from him,” Henry said, happy he finally knew one answer, “She ran and left him before I was born and never told him!”

Red made a noise like a buzzer and gave a thumbs down, “Nope.”

“No?” Henry frowned again, “How do you know?”

“She told me.” Red said smugly.

“What?” Henry looked mutinous.

“Yup. She told me all about it, I know everything.” Red stood, grabbing his empty bowl and stacking it on top of hers before heading towards the kitchen.

“Tell me?” Henry called after her.

“Nope! Ask your Mom!”

“Do Grams and Gramps know?” Henry resettled on the couch, legs stretched out and taking up part of Red’s seat.

“Yup.” Red returned and moved his feet, sitting down and putting her own feet up on the coffee table before letting his feet back onto her lap. “We actually asked and didn’t just call her ‘just like Regina’ because we were being brats.”

Henry crossed his arms and sent her his best glare, “She lied to me.”

“Everybody lies, parents especially.” Red shrugged, “Makes us look good to our kids and like we’re more than the screwups we are. Now, can we watch the movie or are you going to sulk more?” Red asked, tickling the bottom of one of his feet.

“I’ll watch!” Henry yelped, pulling his foot out of reach.

* * *

 

“Hey, Dad?” Henry scuffed his feet on the floor as he sat next to him at the diner, “How did you meet my Mom?”

Neal froze for a moment at the unexpected question. “Um…She stole my car, actually.”

“What?” Henry nearly yelped, “Why?”

“She needed a car.” Neal shrugged.

“Wh…how long were you guys together?” he tried to ignore the impulse to yell more.

“Oh…Couple of months…” Neal thought about it,“through her bithday, at least.”

“Why did you guys split up?” Henry asked finally, not sure he wanted to know the answer as he drew designs on his plate with his fork.

“Um…” Neal scratched the back of his head and sat back in the booth, “She went to prison and I went to Canada.”

“Wh-why’d she go to Prison?”

“A really big theft, actually.” Neal frowned, “A lot of money worth of watches got stolen and she got arrested for it.”

“She…She is like her.” Henry bit his lip and shoved his way out of the booth.

He only made it to the door before he ran head first into Red.

“Let me go!” He cried, fighting against the arms restraining him.

“Henry,” Red said, her voice unnaturally calm, “I need you to do me a favour.”

When he looked up he saw her eyes were focused not on him, but on Neal. “What?”

“Go find your Gramps and tell him I need a little help dealing with the problem we talked about while you and your Mom were gone.”

Henry looked puzzled but ran out of the diner anyway, unaware of how quiet things had gone.

* * *

 

“Gramps!” Henry screamed, running into the apartment, “Gramps!”

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Charming jolted off the sofa, Snow quickly standing at his side, “Henry?”

“Gran wants you at the diner to help her with a problem you two talked about while Emma and I were gone.”

Charming’s whole body language changed and he nodded, running towards the door.

“Charming, be nice!” Snow warned him as he tugged on his jacket.

“Oh, I’m always nice. It’s just 'who am I being nice too’?” He smiled brightly and stepped out of the apartment.

“Do I want to know why she sent you to say that?” Snow asked, taking in Henry’s upset face and the tears threatening.

“Cause my Dad told me the truth about everything.” Henry managed, trying his hardest to remain mad and not upset.

“Oh, honey,” Snow sighed and helped him out of his coat, “Look, your Dad–”

“Is the nice one! Why did Emma have to keep me from him? She’s the thief, he actually wanted me!”

Snow froze and looked at Henry strangely, “What?”

“He said that she went to prison for stealing watches and that she tried to steal his car.” Henry exclaimed.

“There’s so much more to it than that,” Snow said, “Sit down, I’ll make cocoa, okay? Your mom’s not due back from the station for a little while…”

* * *

 

“What the hell, guys?” Emma called, hurrying over to where she saw Red and Charming standing, both grinning and high-fiving. “I’m back on official capacity for ONE day and I get a call saying that two of my parents have tied my ex-boyfriend to the clock tower!” Emma looked definitely like a sulking toddler.

“He’s not tied.” Red laughed, leaning against Charming lightly.

“Then how’s he stuck on one of the clock hands?” Emma asked, shading her eyes and looking up at the flailing and yelling man attached to the short hand of the clock.

“Eh, his belt and underwear mostly,” Charming shrugged looking proud, “I figure it’ll hold for now and if not…”

“Well, I doubt anyone would judge.” Red smirked.

“Funny, wrong, mean…Why?” Emma gestured towards Neal with her hand.

“He was lying to Henry.” Red told her with a frown, “I don’t think he’s realized I’ve got wolf hearing.”

“What?” Emma asked quietly.

“Henry asked how you two met and why you left him,” Red said, reaching out and tucking Emma’s hair behind her ears, “and Neal answered truthfully but while leaving out all his part in it.”

“What?” Emma said again.

“He said you two met because you stole his car and broke up because you went to prison for watch theft.” Red crossed her arms and stared up at Neal.

Emma looked torn between yelling in fury and crying till Charming wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her close, “I say we leave him either ten more minutes or till Gold shows up screaming and waving his cane.” Charming smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Aw, I say till the hour changes,” Red suggested, “Then we get to hear the horrified scream as he drops some.”

–

“SNOW! SNOW!”

Snow looked at the door, trying not to jump due to being startled while Henry was laying against her. He was done crying, their cocoa had gone cold and finally he knew the truth. “Hold on, Henry, I’ll be right back.” She kissed the top of his head and shifted away, ignoring the wet spot on her blouse from his tears. She opened the door to find Grumpy, “What’s wrong?” she asked quickly, “Emma-?”

“We need your help.” Grumpy said quickly.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“What isn’t?” Grumpy ran a hand over his hair in frustration, “Your spouses have hung your kid’s ex from the clock tower hands and your kid is refusing to help get him down or unbolt the door so anyone else can help him!”

“Hung!?” Snow reached instinctively to her throat.

“No, not hung, hung like…they hoisted him onto one of the clock hands using his underwear and belt…while he was wearing them.” Grumpy groaned, “Please go make them let him down before Rumpelstiltskin finds out and fries us all?”

Snow looked back to Henry where he was sitting on the couch watching her with red eyes, “Okay, give me a few minutes.”

She closed the door and tugged her coat on, “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, Henry, but you can’t be here all alone.”

“Can I go see Granny?” Henry asked quietly, walking to the door and accepting the coat Snow held out to him. “I never finished eating.”

“Of course, I’ll come get you once I’ve sorted everyone out.” She opened the door and held his hand in her left, something he always said was so he could 'protect the girls’ and would never admit was because he liked keeping them close. “Why is our family so…weird?” Snow asked to make him laugh.

Henry shook his head, “We’re living fairytales?” he offered, clearly not in the laughing mood.

* * *

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Snow yelled, not bothering with being calm or quiet as she located the three. They weren’t exactly hard to find as all three were just standing a short distance away, two looking up at the clock tower where Neal was fighting and screaming still.

“Watching an idiot squirm.” Charming offered, arms wrapped around Emma holding her close. Emma’s face was hidden against his chest.

“Why is he up there?” Snow tried again, ignoring the hand Red offered her.

“Because he’s a lying moron who tried to hurt Emma via Henry.” Red told her, sticking her hand back in her pocket. “And I caught him at it.”

Snow closed her eyes, counted to five and opened them again, “Go let him down before he falls.” she said calmly. “Emma?”

Emma looked at her finally and Snow’s heart broke a little at the red rimmed eyes. “Yeah?”

“You’re sheriff,” Snow spoke, trying to hide emotional attachments, “You can toss him in the jail, forbid him from seeing Henry, but don’t let them torture him.”

“I know, sorry, I…” Emma took a breath, “Can you two please go let him down?”

“Wait thirty seconds.” Red said, holding up her hand.

“Why? What’s in thirty seconds?” Snow questioned even as Charming chuckled.

“Hour changes.” Red pointed so Emma would look.

The clock bell rang out, the little hand dropped a foot and Neal shrieked like a little girl.

Snow bit her lip to keep from laughing and nailed both her spouses with her best death glare, “Go. Get. Him. Down.”

Charming sighed and released Emma, jogging off to the clock tower with Red to unlock the doors and let Neal down.

“Now…Did you know about this little stunt?” Snow asked Emma seriously.

“I got the call about ten minutes ago, maybe longer,” Emma wiped at her eyes with her hands, “I didn’t know they were planning this though, no.”

Snow crossed the short space between them and pulled Emma into a hug like she had Henry, “Your Dad and Mama are idiots, but they have good intentions most times.” Snow said as Emma held onto her, “That being said, your son is at Granny’s.”

“He’s gone back to calling me 'Emma’.” Emma said sadly, resting her head against her mother’s shoulder.

“Oh, he’s back to 'Mom’. When he came to get Charming he said a few rude things and I…okay, I promised I wouldn’t interfere but I sorted out his misconceptions.”

“You told him the truth about…everything?” Emma asked, stepping backwards.

“Yes –”

“Oh, God, now he’ll hate both of us and Neal will blame me too and–”

“Actually, he’s annoyed but doesn’t hate you. In fact he’s more angry you let him take the side of someone who hurt you than that you lied to him.” Snow assured her, pulling her back into a hug, “He’s at Granny’s eating since he never really ate earlier and has asked if we can make a nest and watch 'Hoodwinked’ tonight.”

“Ugh, I thought we forbid all fairy tale movies after the 'Prince Charming is a Polygamist’ incident?” Emma grumbled.

“Special request,” Snow laughed.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SON!?”

Emma winced against Snow, “Seems Gold now knows.”

“Oh, I think that’s safe to say.” Snow gave a smile and a wave to Gold who was now storming towards them as fast as he could limp.

* * *

 

“You can’t put my boy in jail because he broke your daughter’s heart.” Gold argued even as Charming slammed the bars shut, trapping Neal in the cell.

“No, you’re right I can’t.” Charming nodded, “But I can imprison him for theft. See, he’s still got a warrant out on him for several thousand dollars worth of stolen watches.”

Gold’s noise of anger and frustration were almost drowned by Neal’s groan. “How long are you going to keep him in there?”

“Oh I don’t know. Any ideas, Red?” Charming asked Red.

Red shifted in her makeshift seat on the desk, “Oh…How about eleven months? Eleven months seem fair to you, Neal?” She smiled wolfishly and Charming had to resist a laugh himself.

“You can’t keep him.”

“Can too.” Charming said childishly,.“You have an issue? Take it up with the Sheriff.”

* * *

 

“Any idea what we missed?” Charming asked quietly as he shut the door to their apartment.

The nest had indeed been rebuilt and was currently occupied by their sleeping family. Henry lay curled up against Emma, hand tightly clutching her pajama shirt while Emma lay with her head on Snow’s stomach.

“Hmm. Tears, cocoa and hugging?” Red smiled as he helped remove her coat.

“Ah, true.”

-

“You know he’s not going to be in jail when you go back tomorrow.” Snow informed them sleepily when they finally came in to lay down.

“Mhmm..wait, how?”

“Gold called and demanded I make my spouses behave.”

“What’d you do?” Red asked, curling up with Charming and letting him pull the blankets over both of them.

“Told him where he could shove that idea and went back to my crying kid and grandkid.” Snow sniffed.

“Good job. Yeah, we’ll be playing hunter-tracker for the rest of the week probably.” Charming acknowledged, “Good thing we’ve–”

“Make one joke about a K-9 unit and I’m going to make you sleep in the bathtub.” Red warned him.

“Course not…” Charming laughed quietly, “Night you two, love you.”

“Love you too.” came two sleepy replies.


	23. Winter Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL: Pre curse

“C'mon, it’s morning!” Red whined, poking Snow’s sides through the blankets til the older woman squirmed and pulled the blankets up higher over herself to stop her.  
  
“I don’t care! It’s cold and I’m not moving.” Snow’s voice was muffled by the blankets and her pillow.  
  
“It’s cold but you can bundle up.” Red tried to persuade her. She wanted to go play outside. There were several feet of snow on the ground just begging for a battle and snowmen and forts!  
  
“It’ll still be cold.” Snow countered.  
  
Red moved, straddling Snow’s legs over the covers and tugged down the blankets till Snow’s scowling face was visible, “Just a few minutes?” she pleaded, best pout in place.

“That’s cheating.” Snow declared, closing her eyes against Red’s look.

“Pleeease?” Red put just a hint of a whine into her voice.

“You are so mean.” Snow opened her eyes and sighed, “One pun and I’m coming back inside. From you or Charming.”

“Promise,” Red made a cross over her heart before leaning down and kissing Snow, “You won’t regret it.”

“More than likely I will.” Snow looked around, “Where’s Charming?”

“Last I saw he was digging through closets for winter gear.”

“Why do we have to go outside?” Snow glanced towards the window and was nearly blinded by white and bright sunlight.

“Because it’s fun and winter.” Red told her seriously, “And there’s sledding, snowball fights, snow angels, snow men!” Red bounced till

Snow groaned and shoved at her to make her move. “I hate my name.” Snow complained, getting out from under the covers reluctantly.

“No you don’t.” Red grinned, clamouring off the bed and heading for the wardrobe, “You love it.”

“Hate the puns.” Snow corrected, grabbing her robe and pulling it on in defence against the cold. “You have no idea how many ‘playing in snow’ jokes I’ve had to put up with in my lifetime.”

Red bit her lip, “I’ve been avoiding that one because I am a nice person.”

“Uh huh.”

“I really am.”

* * *

 

“Can you even move your arms?” Charming laughed, watching Snow who seemed to have bundled herself in three layers.

“Yes.” Snow said defensively, crossing her arms. Two sweaters, her undershirt, two pairs of trousers, Her cloak and a pair of boots up to her knee and she was still cold.

“How well?” Charming poked her neck where he could see skin and dodged the smack aimed his direction.

“Well enough to smack you.” Snow threatened.

“Our Princess hates the cold.” Red pouted, pulling the cloak’s hood up over Snow’s head where she already had a cap on to keep her warm.

“How did you two survive winters out on the run if she’s this bad with cold?” Charming tugged a wool cap of his own on and pulled the doors open to the outside.

“I went wolf a lot and cuddled with her as she sulked.” Red informed him, grabbing Snow’s hand and leading her outside. “I’m like a 'furry little fire’.” she half bragged, remembering Snow’s words said one very cold morning years ago.

“Oh, I can attest to that,” Charming chuckled.

Snow looked back mournfully to the door that now separated her from the warmth but let herself be lead out into the cold anyway, “Not in that way, at least not then.”

“Mores the shame.” Red shook her head and grinned when Snow rolled her eyes, “What? You were thinking it too.”

“Mhmm.”

“C'mon,” Charming grabbed Snow’s other hand and tugged her forward through snow that came up almost to her knees, “We have to build a fort.”

“Why?” Snow asked dubiously, eyeing the cold source of childhood annoyance.

“So people have somewhere to hide when someone throws a snowball at them.” Red answered promptly, “Did you never play outside during the winter as a kid?”

“I went ice skating, that was it. Princesses do not play war games.” she recited her Father’s words.

“Oh, Charming we have more corrupting to do.”

“There’s ALWAYS more corruption to be had,” Charming agreed, not stopping till they were in the middle of the fairly open courtyard that was completely covered in snow, some was piled high in drifts as tall as her chest near the walls from wind.

“Okay, fort first, then battle.” He rubbed his gloved hands together and grinned like a little kid.

“Oh Gods,” Snow groaned, resisting the urge to cover her eyes with her hand.

“Come on, Princess, cheer up. It’ll be fun.” Red looked just as gleeful as Charming did, both like little kids on Christmas.

She was cold, she hated the outdoors when it was cold but with those two faces she couldn’t say no.

“What do we do?” Snow asked, adjusting her cap and hood, resigned to hanging around outside for at least a little while.

“Start clearing an area and piling all the snow high as you can get it.” Charming told her.

“Think of it like building a barrier,” Red used her boots to start clearing a small area as Charming just crouched down and used his arms, scooping the snow towards him and lifting it to drop it aside..

“Ah, of course.” Snow resisted the urge to roll her eyes and started helping Red.

* * *

 

“Teams?” Charming asked, packing snow in his hands and then dropping each new projectile into a pile behind the barrier.

 Their barrier only stood about waist high to Charming but it would work fine or so Red said. She was doubtful of that but if they were sure…

“Scared?” Red teased, flopping backwards, sending up a spray of white, making Snow turn to avoid getting a face full of ice.

“No, just being nice to the girls.” Charming grinned at the snow angel Red attempted and the rude gesture she sent his way that was mostly thwarted by her gloves.

“You know I’ll win, right?” Red held her hand up to Snow, a little pout in place.

“Since I’ve never had a snow fight before? Probably.” Snow took Red’s hand and pulled her up off of the ground so she didn’t ruin her creation.

Red grinned down at her angel attempt and wrapped an arm around her waist, “I’ll help you. I always win, we’ll have Charming running in no time.”

“I have my doubts.” Charming picked up one of the snowballs and smirked, eyeing his girls in a calculated manner.

Snow barely had time to move to the side before he threw it and watched it explode across Red’s back with interest. It left behind a large white mark against the red cloak, a little circle of ice clinging even as the snow tumbled down the cloak.

“Oh, you didn’t.” Red said, standing stiffly, shoulders tensed as if she’d felt the cold through the layers.

“Okay, I didn’t.” Charming agreed cheerfully, picking up as many snowballs as his arms could hold and taking a few steps backwards.

Red whirled in place, ducking to grab a handful of snow to make her own 'weapon’, “Better run, Charming.” Red threatened, predatory grin in place.

* * *

 

“Do you give?” Red asked, holding Charming down in the snow, straddling his waist with her hands on his wrists holding him still.

 They’d run out of pre-made projectiles and somehow their snowball fight had devolved into a game of chase ending with Charming grabbing Red and pulling her down into the snow, a position Red quickly reversed.

“Never!” He cried, wriggling beneath her, “Snow! Help me!”

“What am I supposed to do?” Snow laughed. She was freezing by now, having lost her gloves somewhere along the way, her hood was down and she was certain her face was red from the cold.

“Help!” Charming laughed, kicking his feet to try and gain leverage to push Red off and back into the snow. “Get her!”

Red grinned, “Don’t think she’ll be much help, Charming.” She leaned forward over him, forcing his shoulders deeper into the snow and over his neck.

“I’m insulted,” Snow gave a little whine, packing snow into a ball and lobbing it at Red. It didn’t have as much force as the ones they threw but it worked well enough to distract her when it exploded against her side.

“Oh, you didn’t.” Red looked down at her side and the white snow falling from it.

“That’s my girl!” Charming cheered, using her temporary distraction to flip their positions, snagging Red’s hands with one of his, “Good job.”

Red grinned up at him, eyes flashing, “You might want to move.”

He had barely a moment to realize her intentions, “Cheater!” he decreed, scrambling backwards and up, grabbing Snow by her waist and pulling her with him as Red shifted and suddenly where she had been was a giant dark furred wolf.

“Pretty sure that’s cheating.” Snow agreed, laughing at the wolf who stood and shook, sending snow flying around and leaving her fur on end in places.

“Definitely cheating,” Charming pulled Snow with him, grabbing her hand and taking off running.

“You know running from her is useless, right?” Snow let him pull her with him.

“Give me some delusions!”

Snow laughed as they ran, large wolf obviously toying with them by slowing its pace. They made it halfway back to their 'base’ when Red gave up on playing slow and let out a little grumble, launching herself through the air at them.

Charming yelped and grabbed Snow, pulling her close to shield her but instead of a furry wolf impacting them they were pulled down into the snow by a very human Red.

“Don’t scare me like that!” Charming complained, “That was mean.”

“That was funny.” Red laughed, laying back in the snow with her feet over Charming’s legs.

“I’m cold.” Snow declared, making a face a the cold seeping through her cloths.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll melt.” Charming patted her leg in comfort.

Red snorted as Snow growled, “Good one.”

“I warned you.” Snow sat up and grabbed hold of Charming’s sweater with one hand, grabbing a handful of snow with her other and easily shoving the icy powder underneath the garment though not against his skin thanks to another shirt.

“Oh, shit COLD!” Charming complained, leaping to his feet and pulling his sweater out, brushing underneath to get all the snow out.

“And you,” Snow turned to eye Red and the younger woman quickly stood up, backing away.

“I didn’t say a word, HE made the joke.”

“Uh huh,” Snow stood as well, scooping more of the powder up in her hands as Red took off running.


	24. Cats

“I’ll flip you for it.” Charming said, staring up into the tree where a fat grey-blue cat sat a good twenty feet up staring back at them coolly.  
  
Emma scoffed, “Hell no. I climbed after that thing every Thursday for several months. You do it.”  
  
“I did it while you were in our land.”  
  
“Several months. In winter. THERE WAS ICE.”  
  
“Augh…”  
  
“C'mon, Charming, don’t make the little girl cry.” She teased, looking back to the kindergartener that owned the beast. Leah or Lisa or Lina something like that.  
  
“Fine.” He grabbed hold of the lower branches, hauling himself up into the tree. “I don’t care what Snow says, this thing is a possessed.”  
  
He got on eye level with the beast and received a glare, “You going to make this easy on me at all?”  
  
The cat reached out and bapped him with one paw on the top of his head before stretching and climbing onto Charming’s shoulders, nails digging into his shirt as a hold.  
  
“I swear I’m going to get you, cover you in steak sauce and set the Wolf loose.” He cursed, trying not to shift his shoulders too much as he climbed back down, every time he slipped or moved too far the cat’s claws dug in tighter. “I’m going to let the Wolf get you and I’m NOT going to feel sorry about it.”  
  
The cat made a growling noise.  
  
“And I don’t care what Snow says, you understand me just fine.” He grabbed the lower branches again and slowly dropped to the ground.  
The moment his boots hit the ground it’s nails dug in hard making him curse.  
  
“Emma, get it off of me!”  
  
Emma went to grab the cat but it leapt off on it’s own, stretching and digging it’s claws into the grass before sauntering off to rub against his owner.  
  
“I say we put that thing on a leash.” Emma told him, checking over his shoulders for him.  
  
“Fuck that, that thing’s wolf chow.”


	25. Storms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL AU

“I don’t know what to do, she won’t settle.” Snow said anxiously bouncing Emma lightly in her arms.

The five month old wouldn’t calm though, no matter what she or Red tried.

Not that Red was much help when she was currently jumping at every noise and nearly shaking with the thunder that rumbled outside.

“Rocking, bouncing, singing, even nursing, nothing. She won’t calm. What am I doing wrong?”

“Nothing,” Charming plucked the crying baby from Snow’s arms, “Let me try. Go sit with Red.”

“But-”

“Let me try.” Charming tried again, easily holding Emma with one arm against him. “Go sit and calm down.”

“Okay,” Snow nodded, and watched Emma for a moment but walked across the room to sit with Red on their bed.

“Alright, Emmabear, let’s see what we can do about all this noise, hmm?” Charming shifted her in his arms and left their room, heading for the nursery. Emma looked around for Snow and Red but gripped his shirt tight anyway.

The next clap of thunder sent Emma into another round of howling sobs.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Charming rocked her, hand on her back to keep her steady against him and he ducked his head so hers was pressed against him, “It’s okay, Daddy’s here. It’s loud and scary but Daddy’s here.”

Her baby blanket was in the crib and he picked it up with one hand, tucking it around Emma as best he could and looking around again for another blanket. There was another normal fluffy one in her crib so he snagged it too along with her teddy bear before heading back to their room.

Once there he ignored the bed where Snow and Red sat and headed for one of the big comfy arm chairs that sat by the fire and settled himself in it, kicking his feet up onto the footrest and wrapping Emma in her baby blanket, bringing it up to cover her head partially where it rested on his shoulder and the did the same with the other to muffle some of the noise.

“There, is that a little better?” Charming asked softly, setting up her teddy bear on the arm of the chair where Emma could see it and cradled her close, hand rubbing her back under the blankets in an attempt at calming her. “Not as loud?”

Emma wasn’t sobbing anymore but she was still fussing and crying, little hands clinging to his shirt, face pressed against his neck. “It’s okay, Emmabear, Daddy’s here.” he said, humming quietly.

The next clap of thunder made her jump but it didn’t produce sobs.

“See, Daddy used to be scared of thunderstorms too.” He confided in her, keeping his voice low and calming. “I’d shake and cry in my little bed, trying to be big and brave but I never could manage it on my own. Then my Papa? He’d call my name and tell me it was okay, that he’d protect me from the storm. He’d pull me into bed with them and tuck me in with my blanket between him and my Mama.” He patted her back lightly, listening to the crying slowly ebb away.

“And your Mama? She’s scared of them too.” He hummed a little when a clap of thunder did make her shake more and held her a little closer. “They’re loud and bright and so, so scary.” Charming kissed the top of her head, “But it’s okay that they’re scary, because Daddy’ll protect you.” he promised.

It was only a few more minutes before all the tears stopped though she didn’t loosen her grip on his shirt.

Each clap of thunder brought about a new jolt or shake from Emma but eventually she fell asleep cradled against him.

Even once she was asleep though he didn’t set her down. Not until the storm was over and all the thunder long gone.


	26. Allergies

“What are you two up to?” Emma addressed her father and son, both sitting at the table poses nearly identical. She shut the door behind her and automatically hung her keys up on the hooks next to it.  
  
“Lunch.” Henry said with a grin.  
  
“Ah, whatcha got?” She inquired, heading to the kitchen herself for something.  
  
“Nutella. Gran got it.” Henry informed her around a mouthful of sandwich.  
  
Panic gripped her immediately, “Shit. Don’t eat that!” She nearly yelled, though she knew it was too late.  
Identical looks of confusion.  
  
“Why?” Henry questioned while Charming swallowed what was in his mouth.  
  
Too late.  
  
The chances of either having an allergic reaction had to be 50/50 but the chances of them both having one….  
  
She didn’t even think, just ran up the stairs to her room she shared with Henry. In hindsight maybe it wasn’t a good idea to not share the information of an allergy that was probably inherited.  
Emma knocked her jewelery box off her dresser in her haste to grab her spare epipen from inside it. She had one in her pocket but if they both reacted…if Henry reacted she didn’t have a child’s dose.  
She skidded on the stairs, heels hitting the edge of the last one and nearly fell.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Henry wiped his face with the back of his hand, sandwich obediently left alone on his plate only one bite missing.  
  
“You okay?” She asked quickly, “Itchy, stomach hurting?”  
  
“No. I’m fine.”  
  
A glance at her Dad however…  
  
His face was turning red, little marks already appearing on his skin as he tugged at the collar of his shirt uncomfortably trying to ease his breathing.  
  
Winner of the 50/50 game, brilliant.  
  
“Henry, get my keys and go start my car now.” Emma ordered him. Ambulance might be nice but she could get there quicker. She pulled Charming from his chair with help from him and both staggered, nearly collapsing if it weren’t for the table to lean against.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Henry asked, leaving the table immediately.  
  
“Your Gramps won the same genetic lottery I did.” Emma tried to hold Charming steady at the same time she opened up the tube that held the epipen, getting the device usable, “Go start the car. Where are your Grandmothers?” She cursed, pulling off the safety cap. “This may hurt.” She warned Charming. She didn’t bother with moving his jeans at all, just stabbed the epipen into his outer-thigh through them, holding it in place and slowly counting to ten.  
  
“They said something about the store.” Henry grabbed her keys from the hook, tugging on his shoes but not stopping to tie them, “Is he okay?”  
  
“He’ll be fine.” Emma assured him, sticking the epipen back in it’s container after checking to make sure it’d actually gone in and setting it aside on the table. She rubbed the area she’d injected it in with her palm, “Right, Gramps?”  
  
Charming was still wheezing, bright red with hives starting on his skin, swelling obvious but he nodded, hands gripping the table tightly.  
  
“Well, now I know who I got it from.” Emma told him, trying to remain calm. “Hospital trip time.”  
  
“Wha–?” Charming managed, arm around Emma’s shoulders as she helped him to the door.  
  
“You and me share an allergy. I should have mentioned that sooner.” Emma tried hard not to show her own panic and anxieties.  
  
Getting him down stairs was a task when he was having issues remaining upright. The epipen had done it’s job and he was starting to breathe easier, the swelling fading already but it still was hard.  
  
Once in the car and settled Emma pulled her cellphone from her pocket, handing it back to Henry, “Call your Grams. Tell her we’re headed to the ER, please.”  
  
Henry sat back in the backseat, seatbelt pulled on from habit and dialed the familiar number.  
  
“Years of swordfights, dragon slaying and wars and this is what floors you?” Emma was sure she was breaking several speeding laws but it wasn’t like anyone could stop her currently with both law enforcement officials IN the vehicle. She glanced sideways and saw the glare he gave her, obviously not feeling so near death, and tried not to laugh in relief.  
  


* * *

  
  
“What happened?”  
  
“Where are they?”  
  
“We’ve got company.” Emma told Charming at the sound of Red and Snow’s voices. She didn’t move from her chair next to the bed, her hand still in his on the bed.  Henry sat perched half on her lap still shaken clearly.  
  
“Joy.” Charming shifted on the bed, trying not to tug at his IV that Whale had stuck in.  
  
“They’re going to freak.” Henry said of his Grandmothers, listening for footsteps outside on the linoleum.  
  
“I didn’t do anything this time.” Charming whined. He was still sporting some wicked looking hives but wasn’t so swollen and there wasn’t a hint of strain to his breathing thanks to the medicine Whale had got him on immediately.  “I didn’t know it could hurt me, it’s a damn sandwich.”  
  
“Technically it’s the nut paste.” Emma corrected, free arm wrapped around Henry’s stomach holding him close. “Tell me if you start itching at all.” She warned him for the fifth time.  
  
“I will.” he promised again.  
  
It wasn’t even a full minute before the curtains that separated Charming’s bed from the  rest of the ER was opened, two very worried looking women entering.  
  
“What happened?” Snow demanded, crossing to Charming’s side quickly, hand going to his face to examine him.  
  
“Prince Charming got taken down by a sandwich.” Emma joked, feeling relieved and not panicking anymore.  
  
“What?” Red questioned, stepping to the opposite side of the bed, a concerned look in place.  
  
“Allergic reaction.” Charming clarified, shooting Emma another glare. “Whale says I’ll be fine. Could’ve been worse, but Emma had an epipen.”  
  
“Why did you have an epipen?” Snow turned away from Charming, satisfied he wasn’t going to collapse.  
  
“Same allergy.” Emma supplied weakly, half tempted to hide behind Henry, letting Charming’s hand go and wrapping her other arm around her son as well.  
  
“You have an allergy bad enough you need an epipen and you didn’t tell us?” Red demanded, slipping her own hand into Charmings. “Snow, did you know?”  
  
“No. No, I didn’t.”  
  
“Any other allergies you haven’t told us about?”   
  
“Sulfa makes me itchy?” She offered with a sheepish smile, definitely hiding behind Henry by now.  
  


* * *

  
  
Emma’s ears were still ringing from the lecture over an hour later when they got Charming set up a private room for overnight observation ‘just in case’.  
  
“Your own fault.” Charming gestured Emma closer, patting the unoccupied side of his bed when she sat down sulkily in one of the arm chairs.  
  
“I got lectured like a kid.” Emma barely hid the whine, sitting down on the side of his bed like Henry, “No offense, kid.”  
  
Henry shrugged, holding Charming’s hand tightly, “It’s okay.”  
  
Red had disappeared home for 'a few minutes’ to get Charming some loose clothing to wear in place of his hospital gown and Snow was politely pretending not to be listening.  
  
“You did sort of deserve it.” Charming replied in a mock whisper, holding her hand in his. “You okay?”  
  
“You’re the one who had a reaction.”  
  
“Yeah, but you’re the one who went all scary calm medic.” Charming pointed out, “So, you okay?”  
  
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Emma nodded. She wouldn’t be forgetting the sight of her father choking and fighting for air anytime soon though.  
  
“Good.” He squeezed her hand lightly.  
  


* * *

  
  
“It’s not fair!” Regina proclaimed the moment she stepped into the room and spotted Charming laying on his hospital bed, “I try for years with complex plans, with magic, with assassins and armies and convoluted plots and fail yet the man can be taken down by a NUT!” she said with exasperation.  
  
Charming raised the hand that didn’t have an IV in it and flipped her off, “Come to mock my suffering?”  
  
“Henry’s getting a scratch test,” Emma told him, “Figured Regina’d want to be around for that.”  
  
“Oh, ouch.” Charming made a face, “You going to be okay, Buddy?”  
  
“I’ll be fine.” Henry put on a brave face, “A few pokes is better than this, right?”  
  
“Exactly.” Charming gave him a thumbs up, “You don’t want my fate.” he added with a shudder.  
  
“Hives is a horrible 'fate’?” Regina questioned.  
  
“They are when they cover EVERYWHERE.” Charming sulked, trying to distract his grandson or make him laugh.  
  
“Yeah, keep scratching and I’m tapping oven mitts over your hands.” Red threatened sweetly.  
  
“You’re leaving me alone with them too, aren’t you?” Charming looked at Emma pitifully.  
  
“Kid’s got a medical test.” Emma shrugged, hiding a smile.  
  
“You’re just ducking out so they cant’ lecture you anymore.” He crossed his arms as much as he could and sent a glare her direction.  
  
“That’s a bonus.” She paused, debating for a moment then leaned down to hug him, “I’m glad your okay.” She said quietly.  
  
“'Course I’m okay.” Charming replied just as quietly, hugging her back, “It’ll take more than that to harm me.” he joked but held her tight anyway. “Thank you for saving me yet again.”  
  
“It’s what families do, right?”  
  
“Right.”


	27. Disney Princesses

“Ella!” Belle called cheerfully, waving down the young mother when she entered the diner, “Come here a moment, I need your help.”  
  
“Oh? What with?” Ella asked politely, Alexandra stuck in the baby bjorn on her chest.  
  
“Emma here is on a very weird collectors mission,” Belle began with a smile, one hand resting on Emma’s back where she sat on a stool at the counter.  
  
“NO! No I am not!” Emma said quickly, trying to interrupt Belle before she could finish, “It’s coincidental, accidental and not–mph.” Her protests where stilled by the hand Belle placed over her mouth.  
  
“See, she’s gotten a kiss from all but four ‘Disney’ Princesses now and from all but one in Storybrooke,” Belle continued, ignoring when Emma licked her hand to make her move it.  
  
“Oh?”  
  
“Well, you know what mothers are like, myself it was a just on the cheek but it counts,” Belle listed, “and Aurora just had to thank her for slaying Maleficent. Care to help her out and make it all known Disney Princesses in Storybrooke?”  
  
Ella laughed, “Why not?”  
  


* * *

  
  
Emma slammed the door to the apartment shut and nearly stomped across the room, collapsing onto the couch with a very annoyed look.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Snow asked cautiously, sharing a look with Charming and Red.  
  
“Your best friend sucks.” Emma told Red plainly, arms crossed over her chest looking every bit a grumpy child.  
  
“Huh? Oh, Belle.” Red realized, “What’d Belle do to you this time?”  
  
“I just got kissed by Cinder-freaking-Ella and it’s all that woman’s fault!” Emma covered her face with her hands. “Stop laughing.” She whined, voice muffled by her hands, “It’s not funny! She and Ella are trying to figure out how to find Jasmine, Ariel and something about 'Rapunzel’ because apparently I’m playing collector in some twisted game I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR!” She sat back sulkily, peering over her fingers at her parents, all of whom look less than sympathetic to her plight. “I hate you all.”  
  
Red just gave her a thumbs up, laughing too hard to answer properly.


	28. Princesses don't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW references

“What’s wrong with you?” Thomas asked curiously as Emma stared down at the counter, a small pyramid of shot glasses built in front of her.  
  
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Emma mumbled, draining another one and adding it to the top carefully so she didn’t knock it over.  
  
“Oh?” Ella looked past her husband and Emma to Grumpy, “Any idea?”  
  
Grumpy snickered, “She walked in on her parents attempting to make her a sibling.”  
  
“I fucking wish.” Emma hid her eyes with her palms, “That’s NOT how you make a kid, trust me, I know.”  
  
“On the bright side you didn’t exactly have to see your dad naked.” Grumpy offered, clearly enjoying her pain.  
  
“Yeah, because him being covered by one of my mothers is so much better.” Emma sniped, reaching behind the counter and tugging a vodka bottle loose when she was sure Granny wasn’t watching. “Princesses don’t give blowjobs.” Emma said to herself, taking the spout off and pulling it to her lips instead of pouring it into any of her shotglasses.  
  
“Actually,” Ella mused, turning pink.  
  
“No,” Emma told her, swallowing her drink and pointing at Ella fiercely, “Princesses don’t give blowjobs.”

* * *

  
“We are starting a fund!” Emma yelled, placing an empty plastic jar on the counter of the diner, pointedly ignoring the laughter from Thomas and the grin from Granny. It had a slot cut into the lid and a sketch of a door on a napkin taped to it. “We’re calling it the ‘our savior is going insane because there are no walls in her house and her parents won’t stop fucking’ fund.” Emma tapped the jar, “Anything you can donate that will help me put up walls is greatly appreciated.”  
  
“Who’s going to explain that jar to Red in the morning?” Ella asked Grumpy quietly.  
  
“Oh, I’m not but I want to be here when she finds out.” Grumpy grinned and Ella laughed.  
  


* * *

  
  
All morning people were giggling any time Red looked at or asked about the plastic jar and every time someone put money in it there’d be a wolf-whistle or cheer from somewhere in the diner.  
  
Even Granny wouldn’t tell her and that was surprising.  
  
Finally around noon Emma stumbled in, took one look at the counter and paled.  
  
“Hey, Princess!” Grumpy yelled, picking it up and tossing it to her, watching her catch it easily, “Think you got enough.”  
  
“Oh God. I was hoping that was a hallucination.” Emma whimpered, examining the mostly full jar, “Did I really–?”  
  
“Yup.” Grumpy grinned, nodding gleefully.  
  
Emma swallowed hard, hands tightening on the plastic, “And I told Ella–?”  
  
“Yup.”  
  
“Oh my God.” Emma covered her eyes with her hand.  
  
“Anyone going to tell me what the jar is for?” Red asked in irritation.  
  
“It’s to get some walls built in the apartment so Emma never has to be traumatized by her parents being naked again.” Grumpy said cheerfully.  
  
Red flushed scarlet, “Emma!”  
  
“I was drunk and traumatized!” Emma protested, turning red herself, “And you guys really need to put a tie on the door!” she added with a whine, toying with the jar.  
  
“Oh, it was Red?” Grumpy grinned, “Then your mantra from last night doesn’t count; Red’s not a Princess.”  
  
Emma tossed the jar back to Grumpy, turned quickly and left, hoping to leave before what was left of her dignity deserted her.  
  
“Wh-what mantra?” Red asked, “Grumpy!”  
  
He sat the jar back on the counter, tucked $5 into it and smiled, “Ask Ella.”  
  
It only took two minuets and two texts and Red was a brighter shade than she had been before. “I’m going to kill Emma.”


	29. Warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL: Pre relationship

“Still cold?” Red questioned Snow who sat shivering on the floor near the fireplace.  
  
“F-freezing.” Snow replied, hugging her cloak close and leaning near to the flames as she could without being in danger. “I don’t like the cold.”  
  
“I’m shocked,” Red teased, undoing her own cloak and draping it over Snow’s shoulders, “With your name and all.”  
  
“You have no idea how many name jokes I’ve heard over the years.” Snow sighed clutching the new warmth that smelled just like her friend but frowned, “You’ll get cold, Red, you need it.”  
  
“No, I won’t. I’ve been trying something recently and it seems to work.” Red rubbed her hands together nervously, “Do you trust me?”  
  
“Yes.” There was no hesitation at all in the words and it made Red smile.  
  
 Snow watched her friend as Red closed her eyes tight and relaxed her hands at her side. The air around Red seemed to shimmer and Snow covered her mouth to hold back the gasp of surprise when Red herself appeared to shimmer and suddenly where her friend had stood was a large black wolf.  
  
“R-Red?” She questioned tentatively, fingers clutching the red cloak that covered her tightly just in case.  
  
The wolf’s eyes opened and fixed on Snow, glowing gold and studying the cabin around them.  
  
Slowly the eyes flicked away from her and down to the floor where Snow watched the wolf flex it’s paws one by one, slowly extending claws and then retracting them.  
  
“Red, it is you, isn’t it?” Snow tried again, fighting back fear. Red wouldn’t hurt her, not consciously but she was still a little afraid. She’d only seen this transformation twice and both times it’d ended in death.  
  
Instead of a growl or any displays of aggression the wolf’s tail began to wag, it’s ears flicking up alert and reminding Snow of the hunting dogs her father used to own whenever they were rewarded for a good job.  
  
“It is you.” Snow smiled nearly laughing in relief. “How did you learn to do that?”  
  
 She didn’t receive any reply, couldn’t really expect one but the wolf did move forward slowly, almost afraid of her reaction it looked like. “It’s okay, I trust you.” Snow assured Red with a smile, extending one hand.  
  
Red finished crossing the short distance slowly and ducked her head so it rubbed against Snow’s hand.  
  
Her fur was a lot softer than Snow expected and she brushed her fingertips across it with a smile, reaching up to stroke Red’s brow and then her ears, “Amazing.” she whispered.  
  
Red looked as amused as she’d ever seen any canines look and circled Snow, moving till she was half behind her and curling up around her, laying down on the floor so her head was on Snow’s lap.  
“You learned this to keep me warm?” Snow laughed, covering the top of Red’s head with her hand. Palm flat, fingers splayed she could barely cover it.  
  
There was a little sigh from Red and a grumbly noise.  
  
“Not just for that then.” Snow scratched Red’s ears carefully and felt the little rumble from Red’s chest almost like a purr. “It’s still appreciated. I think you’re warmer than the fire. I feel warmer already.”


	30. Pregnant, not chubby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL: Pre curse

“C'mon, Snow, you can’t stay in bed all day.” Red cajoled from on top of the covers, trying to get her wife to pull the blankets down enough to talk to her.  
  
“Watch me.” Snow’s voice was muffled by the sheets.

Red sighed but smiled all the same, tugging the sheets to try and pull them down again, “It’s a beautiful day, sun’s shining, birds are singing, I swear I saw a squirrel dancing.”

“Bite me.”

“I would but you’re a bit covered up. Ha!” Red succeeded in pulling down the sheets enough to see Snow’s eyes glaring at her and a mess of dark curls, “C'mon, it’s a beautiful day.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Snow grumbled, trying to pull the blankets back up, “It’s hot, it’s bright and the world is full of people.”

“Yeah, and it’s about to have another.” Red laughed, covering Snow’s stomach through the blankets. “Since when are you against that?”

“Are you still pouting in bed?” Charming teased as he returned from getting dressed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Snow’s forehead. “It’s a bright day out! Perfect for walking in the garden, we could go down to the lake…” he bribed.

“The world is full of people.” Snow sulked, pulling the sheets back over her head.

Charming looked at Red who shrugged unsure herself why Snow was being grumpy. “Is the world full of people a bad thing?”

There was silence from underneath the covers then a sigh and Snow wiggled enough to poke just the top of her head and her eyes out again. “It is when they say I look chubby and gossip about when I’m due.”

“Of co-” Charming’s next words were muffled by Red’s palm.

“You look pregnant,” Red assured her, emphasizing the word, “And don’t they know first babies are ALWAYS early?”

“Hmph.”

“C'mon, come walk with us in the gardens, we’ll go down to the lake,” Red bribed, leaning forwards over Snow and pressing a kiss to her forehead like Charming had, “go wading in the shallows, or swimming if you like. I’ll rub your feet.” She offered sweetly.

“I’m not chubby.” Snow grumbled.

“Not in the least.” Red agreed happily, “Now, clothes?”

“Fine.”

“What was that?” Charming complained when Snow went to go find clothes in her closet.

“You were going to agree she looked chubby.” Red gave him a glare without much heat.

“So?”

“She looks pregnant. Unless you want to sleep on the floor for the next several months she looks ‘pregnant’ and if you ever use the word chubby about either of us you will be on the floor in another room.”

Charming held his hands up in front of him in defeat, “Okay, okay.”


	31. Bored Wolves

“You’re going to fall.” Charming warned Red in sing-song, watching the wolf next to the wheel of the ship who was watching the seagulls, eyes fixed, front paws on the railing.

Red didn’t respond, didn’t even make a noise, slowly inching forward, back paw scratching at the wood as she tried to get her balance up better.

It was a hilarious balancing act to watch, one GIANT wolf verses a piece of magical wooden railing, but somehow she managed to climb onto it, perched like a circus lion on it precariously.

“Clear the runway,” Charming laughed, grabbing Emma and tugging her out of harms way when Red’s tail started to wag hard in anticipation.

Not even ten seconds later the wolf let out a growl and launched herself from the railing into the air after one of the birds, jaws wide and reaching.

“Holy shit that’s high!” Emma proclaimed, jumping backwards in shock, bumping into Charming. One giant wolf nearly flying wasn’t a sight she ever thought she’d see.

“Canonball!” Charming laughed, watching the wolf twisting in the air as she fell back towards the deck, moving last minute to land on her paws. “So did you get your reward?” He crossed the deck to where the wolf sat looking almost confused, muzzle clamped shut.

Red blinked and opened her mouth, letting out one very shell shocked seagull who staggered off, attempting to fly while doused in wolf saliva.

“And you didn’t even swallow it this time! Not bad.” Charming patted her head, “Good girl.”

Red let out a grumble, eying the seagull that was staggering around on deck, dazed and soaked.

“Great, we’ve gone from ‘duck hunt’ to 'whack-a-mole’.” Emma sighed when Red belly crawled after it, reaching out and poking it with her paw on occasion, “Mom should have brought a gameboy.”

* * *

 

“Red!”

The wolf froze, paw half extended towards the traumatized bird, ears flattening against her head.

“Only ten minutes of play before being caught, new record.” Charming told Emma quietly, checking his watch.

“Why are you picking on the birds?” Snow demanded, hands on her hips, glare in place.

Red didn’t look at Snow, tail wagging slowly, eyes still on the bird that was now running dizzily towards Snow and safety.

“Yes, I know she’s so evil and cruel, isn’t she?” Snow asked it gently, making a face at the drool soaked feathers. “What is wrong with you?” She approached Red, looking down, “Don’t pretend you can’t hear me missy.”

Red rolled over on her side the moment Snow was next to her, letting out a little whine and pawing at Snow’s shoes.

“I don’t care if you’re bored, why are you picking on seagulls?”

Red whined again and rubbed her face with her paws, peering up at Snow guiltily.

“Oh my God she’s a scolded puppy!” Emma laughed, hiding it with her hand and Charming snorted.

“It’s not nice!”

Red whined louder, a whimpering noise that sent Emma into giggles, tail wagging pitifully.

“I’d make you apologize but I’m frankly thrilled you didn’t swallow it whole.” Snow sighed, rubbing her eyes, “Behave. Go torment Hook or something.”


	32. At the Gallows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pre-Curse AU. Warning: DARK fic.

A scream rang out, a bone chilling howl and then silence.

“Run.” Charming ordered, hand on his sword already drawing.

“Charming–”

“I’ll find Red,” Charming grabbed her hand to make her move. “Run. We’ll find you.” He barely let her pause long enough to steal a kiss before he was pushing her away towards the trees and away from their camp. A brief glance showed several soldiers making their way into camp.

Run.

Charming and Red could always find her. She saw the dwarfs darting off through the trees to one side, could swear she caught a glimpse of Granny’s cloak as she moved through the trees, so she took the opposite direction, sparing them if anything were to happen.

It was hard to leave, even knowing there were soldiers fighting alongside her Charming, that Red could more than take care of herself.

But she ran anyway, dashing through the dark trees as fast as she could, the sounds of metal and yells sounding behind her.

The forest was almost ominous in the dark, roots and sticks littering the ground with other debris that kept nearly tripping her, low hanging branches to make her duck and keep her from going near as fast as she should yet still it made her muscles burn, her breath shorter.

Something hit her as she moved, something hard and solid catching her mid chest and throwing her back to the ground painfully. Snow gasped trying to breathe and felt something powdery falling onto her face. Her vision started to turn black, eyes seemingly impossible to keep open.

“Hello, Princess.”

She couldn’t even focus on the person that stood over her, just a vague black shape in the overwhelming darkness of the trees as slowly her vision gave out and she lost consciousness.

* * *

 

Cold. Everything hurt and there was cold overwhelming her senses.

Snow bit back a groan as she forced herself to sit up. Alive, obviously. Not the woods. Not their camp. Not anywhere safe.

She was in a dungeon of some sort though that wasn’t telling much. Typical stone floors, iron bars, straw on the floor and not a soul around to question.

She tested herself first, seeing where was hurt and trying to figure out why. Torso hurt, right around her ribs where something had knocked her flat – was it a branch or an arm? - her head hurt from hitting the forest floor, maybe from whatever was in that powder… but other than that she felt normal.

Now the big question was which psychopath had abducted her.

If it was George she was in trouble. After his previous curse she had no idea what he’d attempt this time and now there was no Lake Nostos to heal her.

If it was Regina… Regina was somewhat simpler. Normally prone to taunts, to bargains and other deals meant to make Snow suffer more than they were meant to kill her.

With Regina she could stall for time, give her fiancees’ time to find her.

But anyone else… Anyone who was to turn her in for a bounty granted by either Royal…

Whoever it was they obviously didn’t care about her comfort as there was nothing but herself in the cell, not even a cot to lay on. No guards around to watch her, no bounds to keep her in place.

She didn’t scream, didn’t call out for anyone, leery of what she’d find. Instead she sat up, back against the wall and her legs stretched out in front of her, hands folded in her lap waiting. Eventually they’d reveal themselves and then she’d get a better idea of what it was they wanted.

* * *

 

It felt like hours before anyone came to see her, the already dark dungeon growing darker as the sun set and took away light with it.

She didn’t bother to stand when she heard the sounds of boots on the stone floor, an attempt at disrespect and showing annoyance.

The entirety of her legs felt frozen from the floor.

“Well, well, it looks like a bandit can be caught with the same method twice.”

Snow looked up, tilting her head and giving a small smile, “Hello, Regina.”

“You’d think someone would learn from their actions,” Regina mused, peering through the bars at her, “And stop leaving themselves open and alone.”

“What can I say? I don’t learn from my mistakes.” Snow stretched and climbed to her feet, dusting off the back of her pants and slowly walking the short distance to the bars.  
“Clearly.”

“So you’ve got me,” Snow said, looking at Regina as fearlessly as she could through the bars, fingers wrapping around the cold metal. “Congratulations. What’s your master plan? Am I to be kept in here for eternity? Held as bait?”

“Neither,” Regina smiled, clearly pleased, “Come morning light you are to be hanged.”

“What?” Snow asked shortly, heart sinking. There was no way anyone could come for her that soon. It wasn’t possible.

“This time tomorrow you’ll be a dead woman.” Regina brushed her fingers over Snow’s on the bars, warmth against the ice cold that now flooded her entire body.

“No.” Snow shook her head, “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.” Regina’s fingers moved from Snow’s hand and she stepped back, “Sleep well, Snow.”  
“No.” Snow shook her head, voice desperate even to her own ears, “You can’t do this!”

Regina didn’t respond, walking away calmly leaving only a pair of guards and torches that lit the area..

“Regina, please!” Snow yelled after her, fingers tight on the bars.

It was useless to plead she knew but the instinct was there.

“No.” She said quietly to herself, backing away from the bars till her back hit the wall and she sank to the floor.

There was no possible way for Red and Charming to locate her by then let alone come for her and rescue her.

No time for anyone to come for her.

She was all alone and it wasn’t likely Regina was saying this just to torment her.

She’d been serious.

_‘Come morning light’._

Snow had never been more afraid for dawn.

* * *

 

Snow didn’t sleep at all, eyes staring at the wall all night, knees drawn to her chest and hugged close.

It had to be a threat, that was all. Just some stupid threat, a way for Regina to terrorize her again.

Something meant to make her plead and beg and grant Regina the amusement of her humiliation.

Slowly gray light replaced the dark in her cell and then the soft early morning light she used to love.

Not long after she heard the sound of boots on the stones again and she held her breath hoping it was Regina, hoping to hear this all was some psychological game.

But it wasn’t.

Just a group of several soldiers, none she recognized at all. Not even the grace of a soldier from her Father’s army.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Princess,” the soldier at the front said, rope in his hands.   
“What’s the difference?” She asked, trying to sound flippant when her heart felt like it might just fail.

“You going to your death with a pretty face or several bruises.” he answered cordially, making those behind him laugh.

Cooperation was the furthest thing from her mind, but seven of them and one of her… cooperation or at least the appearance of it could lull them into complacency. It had worked before.

“Why not? That way you don’t have to let Regina see you’ve been bested by me.” She said cockily, standing and holding her hands up in front of her, awaiting bindings.

“Wrong way,” the soldier said with amusement, opening the cell door and entering on his own, others guarding the door, weapons in hand.

No chance at locking them in and escaping then. Looked like they learned from their mistakes.

Fighting was an instinct. All thoughts of anything nearing cooperation fleeing the moment he came near her. Game or no game she couldn’t just let this happen.

It was easy enough to dodge his reach in her little cell, not hard to overpower one who was convinced she would 'behave’ and send him crashing to the floor hard. Even the second was easy enough to dodge with some element of surprise still on her side; his head making a sickening crack against the iron bars.

But there were more than just the two. The flash of silver caught her eye, a sword drawn while she was still unarmed and unfortunately drew her attention enough she didn’t see the fist aimed at her but she did feel it impact her temple, sending her sprawling onto the stone floor.  
A boot pressed hard on the middle of her back, forcing her to stay face down on the icy stone.

“So much for going to death with grace and a pretty face.”

The first soldier looked angry as he moved, kneeling by her side, rope still in his hands.

He bound her arms tightly at the wrist, rope not quite cutting into her skin in his angry motions, but didn’t stop there. She could feel the rope being intricately knotted higher and higher as she protested, shoulders painfully stretched, until she was bound from wrist to elbow tightly, forearms pressed together.

“Sorry, Princess, but we’ve seen you escape normally before.” He sounded like he wanted to laugh and was holding it in, gleeful at any revenge for his hurt pride.

Her arms started hurting quickly, muscles straining and shoulders protesting the position. No way to wriggle out of these bindings, no way to run with them on… she doubted she could even stand on her own as it was.

She barely held back a yell when she was hauled up and onto her feet by her arms, pain shooting through her shoulders.  
She swayed on her feet, just on the verge of losing her footing on the level floor. The way they’d bound her put her off balance, arms pulled backward, chest pushed forward to her annoyance.

One final indignity from Regina’s orders, no doubt.

It was a game, she repeated to herself even as she was led from the cell, one guard on either side holding her by her arms to keep her from falling.

Just some twisted mindgame meant to make her beg and plead.

She’d call it off. Last minute to make her suffer but Regina would still call it off.

It was just a game.  
  
It had to be.

* * *

 

There were people milling around the courtyard. Even in the early morning there were dozens of people around. Some clearly peasants, others nobles… some servants she recognized from childhood. All standing with clear view of a newly constructed gallows.

Just a game.

She refused to beg, to meet anyone’s eyes and stared ahead, letting them lead her. Just a torment of Regina’s.

Yet still her hands trembled as she clenched them together in mock comfort, her feet faltered on the wooden steps.

It was too short a time for anyone to come for her. Even with Red’s enhanced speed… no one could come. Did they even know where she was?

_'Please be a game.’_

Snow nearly tripped on the last step, held up only by her guards.

Her stomach was turning to ice that spread through her veins, her heart beating faster and faster.  
Regina was sitting regally within view of the gallows looking darkly amused. Directly in front of them, in fact, though higher up, so that she could watch Snow.

It was just a game. She wanted to humiliate her, force her to plead for her life.

Well she wouldn’t! She wouldn’t give in and give Regina that satisfaction. She was **not** going to beg.

Snow took a slow breath, tearing her eyes away from Regina and looking towards the man Regina had chosen to play Executioner and scare her.

The recognition was instant and she rocked backwards on her feet, held up by the guards. “Huntsman.” she said softly, heart aching.

“Princess,” the Huntsman swallowed hard and looked down to the wooden floor beneath their feet, “I’m sorry.”

“She kept you. Charming said… I’d hoped.” Snow closed her eyes. She’d thought of him often over the years, wondering what had happened to the man who’d spared her life when she was just a scared teenager. When Charming had described the man who had let him go she’d been both hopeful it was him and afraid it was him; that he was still under Regina’s command. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” The Huntsman looked up at her and she could see tears in his eyes, “I’m sorry.”

The realization that this wasn’t a game, wasn’t a trick or torment on Regina’s part hit her like a fist. The look in his eyes alone.

She was going to die.

She was going to die alone and at the hands of the man who’d saved her life years ago.

“Oh Gods.” She closed her eyes, swallowing around the lump in her throat and fighting back tears.

She didn’t fight against the guards moving her though, there wasn’t any use.

She wasn’t strong enough to fight them even if her hands had been freed.

There wasn’t anyone coming for her, she was truly alone.

The Huntsman carefully lowered the noose around her neck, gently pulling her hair free so it draped over her shoulders and wasn’t tugged by the rope.

It was almost funny how careful he was being not to hurt her even as he set about preparing for her death.  
When the guards stepped back the Huntsman rested a hand on her back to support her until she gained precarious balance.

“Any last words?” Regina’s voice rang clear as a bell over the quiet crowd, hanging on the dawn air.

Thousands of things she wanted to say came to mind, each sounding stupid and several pleas bubbled up she had to force down.

She wasn’t going to let Regina have the pleasure of her begging.

Wasn’t going to let Regina see her cry.

Instead she looked sideways to the Huntsman who watched her with pity and torment of his own. “When they come… They will come…” She took a breath but made sure to meet his eyes even as tears welled up, voice quiet but strong, “Tell them I love them and that I’m sorry. Will you do that for me?”  
He licked his lips and nodded, tears she refused to shed falling on his own face. “Yes. I am sorry, Princess.”

“It’s okay,” Snow took a deep breath and turned back to face Regina, head held high, “It’s not your choice.”

She wasn’t going to cry, wasn’t going to scream and protest. Wouldn’t beg.

Regina looked almost puzzled, watching her like something was confounding. Snow twisted her engagement ring around her finger nervously. Maybe she should instruct the Huntsman to take it, to give to Red, Ruth would want it in the family still, but she couldn’t bare to take it off now.  
They wouldn’t come for her.

They couldn’t come for her.

“Your majesty?” one of the soldiers prompted loudly as the Huntsman took his place by the lever.  
Regina’s eyes locked onto hers and for a moment she could almost see the laughing young woman that had read to her almost daily, the step-mother who’d taught her how to ice skate; could see the woman she’d adored completely and looked up to like none other. But in a flash that woman was gone and the Evil Queen was back in her place.

“Proceed.” Regina said clearly, not looking away from Snow.

It could still be a game, a torment, something to be taken back, maybe please oh Gods…

“SNOW!” she glanced towards the gates at the scream. It wasn’t possible, it couldn’t be.  
  
“Charming.” She whispered to herself, eyes wide watching Regina who looked furious. Her heart lept when she heard the roar of one very angry sounding wolf, the clank of metal signifying swords clashing.

“Do it!” Regina yelled, standing from her seat with rage Snow hadn’t seen before.  
  
“SNOW!”

  
“I’m sorry.”

  
There was a creak from the wood, a slam from the lever and then the word dropped out from under her.

Pain.

  
It rushed over her in waves, burning and stabbing and all at once centered everywhere. She couldn’t breathe, the weight of her entire body all held only by the thick coarse rope around her neck made it so not a single breath could be taken.

Her feet couldn’t find purchase when there was no ground near them and no matter how she fought to free her arms it was impossible.

Her lungs burned from lack of air, her blood was pounding in her ears dimming out even the roar of a battle beginning.

Not just a game.

Not just a test.

She struggled to stay aware, struggled to free herself by instinct alone but it wasn’t working, darkness was creeping over her vision.

“SNOW!”

Snow barely was able to get her eyes to focus for a moment on the distant form of her husband, held back by soldiers, sword in his hand, before her vision faded to black.


	33. Fan Clubs

They were watching her again, Snow noted as she checked over the newest spelling test, correcting words here or there. Just a group of younger children from the school who would peer into her classroom whenever they could.

First graders, she was nearly certain, judging by how little they were.  
  
She wasn’t sure if they were watching because she was their Queen or if it was because she was Snow White, but either way her little fan club showed up every day at around the same times.   
Recess, right after school, lunch breaks.  
  
“Shhh, she’ll hear you!”  
  
“Sorry!”

She bit her lip to stop the smile, studiously pretending she couldn’t see them in the doorway.

“Go!”  
  
“You go!”  
  
“I… you go!”

Snow tried hard to stop the laugh, covering her mouth with her hand like she had yawned, focusing on the paper. Shy little first graders wanting to meet her it seemed but couldn’t work up the courage to do so. It shouldn’t have been as funny as it was.

Instead of saying hi herself and potentially embarrassing she let them do it on their own time. It wasn’t like they were hurting anything standing in the doorway. None of the other teachers minded.

“‘scuse me.” She looked up and watched the kids scatter as Henry slipped through the doorway, heading to her desk, “Ready to go?”

“I will be in a minute,” Snow told him, correcting the last word on the page.

“Your fan club is watching still.” Henry lowered his voice and grinned.

“I’ve noticed,” Snow said just as quietly, smiling as well, “Any idea why they’re my fan club?”

Henry shrugged, looking back as if to look at the clock and noting the kids had returned, “You’re Queen Snow White.”

“If they’re expecting a musical number they’re out of luck,” She said dryly, setting her papers aside and putting her things up.

“I think they’re in awe of you.”

“Why?”

“I was.”

“Really?” Snow asked in surprise.

“Yeah. I mean, if the book was right you were Snow White, the Queen of all things good and my Grandma,” Henry looked down at his feet almost embarrassed, “I was really nervous about it for a while.”

“Didn’t stop you from stealing my credit card,” She teased, grabbing her bag and standing from her desk, watching the kids in the doorway scatter.

“Well, you were my Grandma,” Henry grinned mischievously, “You were fair game.”

Snow scoffed and shook her head, “That took me weeks to pay off you know.”

“Fair trade back with love and hugs?” Henry offered, reaching for her hand without thinking.

“Ah, so I get a cuddle and stolen credit cards are forgiven?” She narrowed her eyes at him, taking his hand in hers.

“Yes.” He nodded, “Fair trade.”

“Fine, for now.” Snow shut the classroom door behind her and squeezed his hand lightly, “But you still owe me.”

She noticed her fan club hanging around the hallway, all looking almost petrified, awestruck and it was too cute.

“B-bye, Ms. Blanchard!” One called out in a near squeak, blushing furiously immediately.

Snow turned and smiled at her, “Goodbye. Have a great afternoon!”

She bit her lip to keep from laughing when the girl looked like she might faint.

“I’d hate to see what would happen if you actually had a conversation with one.” Henry said with amusement, looking over his shoulder at the girl who was grinning like she’d won something.


	34. Hustling pool

“I swear to God, Regina, I’m going to kill you with my bare hands this time!” Emma yelled, storming into the diner looking both shocked and angry.

Regina looked over at her from where she sat in a booth with Henry. “May I ask why this time?” She smirked a little and Emma’s eyes narrowed.

“You know damn well what you’ve done.” Emma glowered, “You changed her memories!”

“Who’s memories?” Red asked worriedly, coming out from behind the counter.

“Belle’s got her memories.” Emma said, not looking away from Regina.

“That’s good!” Red exclaimed, “Isn’t it?”

“No, no it’s not because she thinks she’s a scantily clad barfly named Lacey who’s dating ME.” Emma looked like she might either hit someone or be sick, “How does this fit into you’re ‘I’m good now and not doing evil deeds’ life?” Emma asked in frustration, hands fisted at her sides.

“Well, one, it keeps her away from Gold. Two, it keeps her out of trouble and three it distracts you from being grumpy when you’re not with your family.” Regina paused, “Plus it’s just funny.”

Henry looked between the two and laughed, “So you’re dating Belle?” He questioned, lips twitching.

“No!” Emma protested loudly, “I’m not! She just THINKS I am.”

“That is kind of funny,” Henry admitted, smiling at his Mom even as Emma and Red looked horrified.

“No, not funny, not funny at all. Belle is sweet and kind and innocent and lovely and NOT…Not Ruby!” Emma said for lack of a better word. “No offense,” she told Red.

“Belle is acting like Ruby?” Red’s eyes went wide, “Oh Gods.”

“Dressing like too. Make up and everything. Acting like…Well I can’t say you ever randomly kissed me or grabbed my ass.” Emma wrinkled her nose, clearly disgruntled at the thought.

“Oh, we’ve got to change her back.” Red decided, “How do we change her back? Get her memories back?”

“True loves kiss or break the curse.” Henry told them, “That’s how it works, right Mom?”

Regina nodded, “Exactly right, Henry.” she sounded far too amused.

“I swear I’m going to arrest you for sexual harassment by proxy.” Emma threatened even as Regina smiled sweetly.

-

“Hey, Babe!” Lacey called out happily, gesturing Emma over to the bar where she sat.

“Hey,” Emma gave a little half wave but found herself pulled into a hug by Lacey’s arm around her waist and a kiss that made her eyes cross. “Uh, what’s going on?” She asked when she could speak again.

“Just having a few drinks and playing pool, that’s all.” Lacey smiled brightly up at her, not even glancing at the man she’d been talking to. “Care for a game?”

Emma sighed, she probably shouldn’t be encouraging this, or playing along but…“I’m on duty.”

“I can tell.” Lace ran her hand up over Emma’s ribs, tracing the holster she wore with her fingers, “Love the holster.”

Emma tried not to blush, “One game.”

“I win you have to join me for a drink.” Lacey pouted a little.

Emma nodded, “Fine.”

She had fake memories, how good could she be?

—

“I think you’re hustling me.” Emma watched the pool table, trying to keep her eyes off of the skin showing through the back of Lacey’s dress or the low gap created at the front whenever she bent over.

“Now, Sheriff, what makes you think that?” Lacey smiled sweetly even as she sent yet another ball sailing into the side pocket.

“Cheater.” Emma rolled her eyes.

“Oh, never a cheater.” Lacey moved to the side where Emma was and bent to line up her next shot, “Just rather good.”

“Rather good at playing bad,”   
  
“Playing bad?” Lacey scoffed.

Emma placed her hand on Lacey’s back where her skin was showing and smirked as Lacey missed in distraction.

“Now that was cheating.” Lacey said sulkily.

“No, that was funny.” Emma disagreed. She looked over Belle’s outfit again, trying to view it from a non-lust viewpoint and shook her head, “If I gave you my jacket would you wear it?”

“Hmm, blue leather that smells like you,” Lacey tapped her chin in thought, smile starting, “More likely than not.”

“Good, because you’re showing way too much.” Emma sank two of the stripes in a row and straightened up when the third missed.

“Aww, are you jealous?” Lacey mock pouted, taking up the game again.

“Never,” Emma crossed her arms, “Just… I’m not jealous.” Emma repeated.

“Uh huh.” Lacey kept her eye on her shot but Emma could see the smug smile.

“I’m not!”

“Possessive at least,” Lacey mused, “Eight ball, middle left.” she called her shot and did a little victory shimmy when it went in. “I do believe you’re having a drink now.”

Emma set her pool cue on the table and shrugged off her blue leather jacket, holding it out to Lacey.

Lacey sighed heavily as if put upon but pulled it on anyway. She held up her hands, showing how the sleeves covered her so much that only her fingertips were showing, “Yes, this is much better.”

Emma tugged her close and zipped the jacket up all the way. “It is.”

Lacey tugged it down halfway again and grabbed Emma’s hands to keep her from fixing it, “Come on, drink time!”

“Oh, Da-vid’s going to kill me,” She quickly morphed the word 'Dad’.

“You’re his boss,” Lacey made a motion to the bartender, “Tell him to stuff it if he starts telling you what to do.”

Emma entertained that image for a brief moment and shook her head, realizing that’d end up with several hurt looks and an attempt at punishment. “Nothing too strong.” Emma gave in; a bet was a bet.

–

“Ugh, you reek like booze and cigarettes,” Charming wrinkled his nose when Emma finally made it back to the station. “Where did you take your lunch break?”

“'The Rabbit hole’.” Emma automatically went to hang up her jacket before realizing she wasn’t wearing it, “Oh…right.”

“Where’s your jacket?” Charming inquired, crossing his arms over his chest and watching her.

“On Lacey.” Emma blinked to clear her vision. Clearly Lacey had refilled her glass at least once, otherwise she’d be fine and not bordering on 'tipsy’. Or it was from not eating anything yet today.

“Why is it on Lacey? Why’d you go to a bar for lunch, do they even make food?”

“Because Lacey shows way too much skin and I’m not jealous,” Emma stated, sitting down on the couch. “And yes, they make food.”

“Can’t be that good. What’d you have?”

Emma laughed at the concerned Dad voice, “Jack and Coke.”

“Emma! That’s not lunch.”

“Worked.” Emma closed her eyes and lay back, stretching across the couch, “Mostly. I think she refilled it.”

“Since when do you drink on duty?”

“Since Lacey cheats at pool.”

“Alright, come on,” Charming stood up and moved to pull her to her feet, “Lets go get some food in you to absorb some of that alcohol before you pass out or throw up and I have to explain it.”“

—

"She finally snapped,” Grumpy laughed when Charming led Emma into the diner, his arm around her waist to keep her from falling.

“Well, we all knew she would.” Doc sighed.

“She’s fine,” Charming told them, “Red?”

“Oh my God,” Red wrinkled her nose, “She smells like Whale.”

“I resent that!” Emma whined, her head was spinning and while not completely unpleasant she did feel like she might be sick soon.

“That doesn’t make it any less true.” Red frowned, “Why do you smell like Whale?”

“Your darling daughter decided to take her lunch break at 'the Rabbit hole’.”

“Oh, so now she’s mine?” Red scoffed but helped Charming get her sat down in one of the booths nearer the restrooms.

“Yes. When she does something stupidly heroic she’s mine, when she does something stupid and honorable she’s Snows, when she does something stupid that involves alcohol or being sulky she’s yours.” Charming listed.

“I feel loved,” Emma muttered.

“What about all the good things?” Red asked.

“Joint credit?” Charming shrugged.

“I’ll take that for the moment but you’re still making up for the 'stupid’ comment later.” Red warned him, “How much did you drink?”

“Between one and three Jack and cokes.” Emma tried to remember.

“How can you not know that for sure?”

“I think she made him refill my glass to be funny.” Emma admitted. “I was not jealous either!”

“What are you not jealous of?” Red inquired.

Emma just sighed and rested her head back against the wall.

“Uh, something starchy to soak up alcohol for her, please?” Charming winced as Emma grumbled about that. “I guess she hasn’t eaten today.”

“Brilliant,” Red shook her head, “You’re a genius, Pup.”

“I wasn’t planning on drinking! She hustled me.” Emma whined. “I was distracted by skin and vice.”

“Huh?” Charming looked confused.

“Lacey’s mean.” Emma pouted, closing her eyes.


	35. Sunbathing

“Emma?” Mary Margaret called out, frowning when she didn’t get a response. “Emma?”

Her keys were on the hook next to the door, her jacket hung up neatly next to the door so she was home obviously. She wasn’t laying around but the window was open, breeze blowing the curtains inwards.

“Emma…” she sighed and shook her head. Instead of closing the window she climbed out onto the fire escape, heading up to the roof.

Sure enough there was her roommate, stretched out looking almost asleep on the roof except…

“Where is your shirt?” Mary Margaret demanded with a laugh, climbing onto the roof. Emma was stretched out on her stomach on a  blanket, sunning herself, back completely bare clad only in a pair of shorts.

“I’m laying on it.” Emma called back sleepily.

“Why?”

“It’s sunny.” Emma turned her head, blinking up at Mary Margaret when she came to stand at the edge of the large blanket.

“I’ve noticed.” Mary Margaret replied dryly, trying hard not to stare at any of the scars that dotted Emma’s skin, nearly glowing white against the rest of her skin in the sunlight.

“Join me.” Emma offered, turning her head back to rest against her arms.

“Join you in becoming half naked and tanning on a roof?” Mary Margaret shook her head, “Sorry, not interested.”

“Sun feels good.” Emma cajoled her, “Live a little.”

“I’m in pants, not shorts. I don’t think it counts.” Mary Margaret sat down on the blanket anyway and kicking off her shoes, leaving them by the edge next to Emma’s.

“Still counts.” Emma disagreed, clearly amused at her friend.

“I’m not Ruby. Call her if you want a sunbathing buddy.” Mary Margaret leaned back on her arms, looking up at the blue sky, “She probably wouldn’t care.”

“It’s not like anyone will see you,” Emma’s voice was muffled by her arms, “We’re on a roof and no one else in the building bothers with coming up here.”

“Are you trying to get me to compromise my morals?” Mary Margaret teased, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

“Yes. First stop topless sunbathing. Next round, imbibing illegals.” Emma laughed, “Of course those two might work better if reversed.”

“Some sheriff you are.” Mary Margaret scoffed, laying back on the blanket and resting her hands under her head. The sun did feel nice after all the cold.

“Yes. Yes I am. I also have nothing to fear,” Emma turned her head, observing Mary Margaret with a smirk, “Because I am sheriff. I also have contacts.”

“Emma…”

“I’ll stop teasing you about illegals if you join me.” Emma promised.

Mary Margaret shook her head, “I’m already here.”

“Yes, you’re a real wild woman sunbathing in full clothes.” Emma said dryly, “It’s a wonder they let you teach.”

“Hey!”

“Nun.” Emma muttered.

“I am not a Nun!”

“Nun.”

* * *

  
“I knew I’d find you up here,” Snow climbed onto the roof, walking across it to where Emma lay stretched out on her stomach on the blanket back and legs mostly bare to the sun.

“You cheat.” Emma said into her arms, not the least bit startled.

“No, I just know you.” Snow had to try harder not to stare at scars now, not to wonder and question now that Emma wasn’t just her best friend but also her daughter. “The moment it’s warm and sunny you turn lizard.”

“I like warmth.” Emma blinked up at her, “Unlike you.”

“Hey, I love warmth,” Snow protested, “I just don’t sunbathe.”

“Uh-huh,"Emma snorted, turning her face back into her arms, "Nun.”

Snow narrowed her eyes and kicked off her shoes, setting them next to Emma’s, “I’ll show you ‘Nun’.”

* * *

  
Red followed the sounds of laughing to the roof and yelped in surprise when she found both Snow and Emma laying out on their stomachs in the sun, wearing only a pair of short shorts in Emma’s case and skirt in Snow’s case.

“Where is your shirt!?” Red demanded, looking around to see if anyone could see them.

“I’m laying on it.” Snow replied with a giggle that set Emma into peals of laughter.

“Someone is going to see you two!” Red covered her eyes with her hands, “What is wrong with you?”

“Relax, I’ve checked; Jefferson can’t see our roof with his scopes.” Emma informed her and for some reason that set Snow off.

“I’d ask if you two have been drinking but I know you’re sober,” Red said incredulously, “What are you doing?”

“Bonding with sunbathing?” Snow offered arms crossed under her head.

“You’re going to burn to a crisp and I’m not going to feel sorry for you when you cry needing aloe later.”

“I’m not burning,” Snow scoffed.

“Nah, she’s still glow in the dark white.” Emma grinned, “Well, now I’ve checked both boxes on the 'corrupt my friend’ list.”

“Oh lord Red does not get to know that.” Snow warned her, narrowed eyes.

“I said nothing.” Emma smiled sweetly, relaxing again.

“Will you two please get dressed and go inside?” Red whined.

“No.”

“Nope.”


	36. Bad jokes

“News says Snow’s expecting 6-8 inches tonight,” Thomas said sweetly smirking in Snow’s direction.

“Thomas,” Ella elbowed him but he just grinned.

“I mean we’re expecting 6-8 inches of snow tonight. My mistake. Honest mistake,” He said, hand over his heart.

Red rolled her eyes and leaned close to Snow, “He’s off a bit.”

“Mmm, several inches,” She agreed innocently, watching Thomas choke on his coffee.

“Hah! He’s–”

“More in the 10 to 12 range.” Red added, stifling her laughter by hiding her face against Snow’s shoulder when Thomas dropped his coffee across his lap and Emma made a noise of disgust.

–

“Okay, I… I don’t even… really?” Emma made a face of disgust like she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask but the best friend personality was peeking through past daughter.

Snow just laughed, fingers threaded through Red’s as they walked home from the diner, “He’s my husband.”

“What does that mean?” Emma inquired, walking backwards so she could look at them.

“It means if anyone asks he’s 12 inches and it takes two hands.” Red said dryly.

“Ugh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW


	37. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Referenced attempted suicide

“How’d you get that?” Henry asked curiously, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Huh? Get what?” Emma looked confused at his question, mind not focusing as well as it should this early in the morning.

“That.” Henry reached over and drew his finger across the scar on her thigh. It was about three inches long and looked like it had been deep even though it was now faded to white.

“Accident.” Emma told him quickly, tugging her shorts lower and cursing the fact she’d not thought to put on a pair of pajama pants over them before coming downstairs.

“What happened?”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re going to be late for school.” Emma brushed it off, “Go hurry up and get ready, kid.”

Henry rolled his eyes but dutifully headed upstairs anyway.

“What really happened?” Red hopped up to sit on the island counter and watch Emma make her coffee.

“I said it was an accident.” Emma replied, not looking back towards Red.

“Yeah, but you lied. Can’t fool your parent… or wolf senses. People send out panic bits when they get caught and have to lie on the spot.” Red crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the white scar, visible once again when Emma moved to put the milk back in the fridge. “So…What happened?”

“Not discussing it.” Emma grabbed her coffee and went back upstairs to get dressed. Red frowned and watched her leave.

* * *

 

“Why’s Emma have a scar on her thigh?” Red asked Snow when Emma had left to walk with Henry.

“Which one?” Snow replied absently lacing up her boots.

Red frowned with distaste at the idea that question was multiple choice, “…right one.”

“Oh… She got cut.”

“By?”

“A knife.” Snow suddenly became very interested in her shoes.

“Someone stabbed her?” Red demanded.

“Not exactly.” Snow muttered, tying her boot tight, “I’ve got to go. I’ll be late too and then everything goes off schedule.”

“Sit down.” Red nearly growled. Snow twitched in place and crossed her hands on her lap looking extremely guilty but didn’t move. “Who did it?”

“She did.” Snow said quietly, staring down at her hands.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know, Red,” Snow snapped, clearly uneasy, “You of all people should know the answer to that one.” The moment she said it Snow winced in regret, “Sorry! I didn’t–”

“It’s… Emma too?” Red asked, heart breaking.

“Yeah.”

* * *

 

“Kind of busy.” Emma lied as Red entered her office.

Red ignored her, shutting the door with a click and lowering the blinds when Charming looked at them curiously. She turned to face Emma and untucked her shirt, pulling it up slowly and exposing her side and ribs.

“Hey!” Emma protested, raising her hands in front of her eyes, “C'mon, I don’t need to see anything.”

“Look,” Red waited till Emma peeked around her fingers nervously and gestured to her ribs where a scar very similar in size, shape and color to Emma’s covered the space in between her two middle ribs on her left side.

“Wha-?”

“I almost transformed one day, by accident, because I got really mad and I lashed out.” Red spoke quickly so Emma didn’t have time to protest or find an excuse to leave, “I didn’t change fully but I hit Snow when I did it.” Red said, fingers tracing the scar for a moment but she kept her eyes on Emma, “I was so upset and convinced I’d just do worse I… Well, frankly? I put a knife in my chest and the Wolf forced it out. I remember pain and blood and…” She trailed off, memories of pain and off terror forcing their way out of where she kept them locked away most of the time and choked back panic that came with them. “And the next thing I know I’m alive, curled up on the forest floor two days later with a healing over wound that should have killed me.”

“How?” Emma asked, rubbing her thigh where Red had seen the scar earlier.

“Wolf thing. I made it back home, reluctantly, and found them freaking out not just because they hadn’t seen me but because apparently the Wolf doesn’t like pain and destroyed things trying to get rid of it. Once they’d nursed me back to health I was lectured and beaten over the head – literally and metaphorically – with how hurting myself hurt them more and–” Red waved her hand to disperse the memories and brush it aside for now. She refused to cry over something that old and that was her fault, at least in front of her Pup. “Anyway, you’re not alone. You don’t have to lie.”

Emma bit her lip, watching Red for a moment. She sighed and lay her hand flat over where her own scar was, stilling her fidgeting. “Didn’t attempt to hurt anyone on my end. No one would have cared actually. Didn’t have a single person in the world that would notice.” Emma ran her thumb over it through her jeans. “I was eighteen, fresh out of prison where I’d been abandoned by my boyfriend, where two months ago I’d abandoned my son and had nothing in the world beyond a car. It seemed like the best idea. The only way.”

“Well, I got beat up on and nursed back to health by Snow and Charming…you?” Red lowered her shirt and sat down on the desk, feeling like she was standing on thin ice and she didn’t know which way to move.

“Random good Samaritan rushed me to an ER where I got a fuckton of internal and external stitches. Then once they saw my C-section scar and they talked to me I got some little red ‘happy pills’ and a pamphlet to a local support group.” Emma said airily but Red could tell Emma was hiding as much unease and unhappiness as she was.

“Did it help?”

“More than I’d like to admit. Don’t tell Henry?” Emma requested sinking low in her seat and sounding a bit pathetic, “I don’t want him to know.”

“I understand,” Red told her. She hadn’t ever really wanted her Pup to know the 'why’ of her scar either. “Just don’t lie to me, or feel you have to shut me out.”

“If I don’t lie then you learn things that make you hate me.” Emma whispered, looking down at her lap.

Red slid off the desk and crouched down in front of Emma, taking her hands in her own. “Pup, there is absolutely nothing you could ever do to make me hate you.”

“Really? I’ve lied, I’ve cheated, I stole, I went to prison, I abandoned my kid, I tried to…” Emma trailed off and looked at her leg then back to Red reluctantly.

“I’ve lied, stolen, been in a prison, I tried to kill myself and I couldn’t keep you safe. There’s nothing you’ve done Snow, Charming or I can’t understand. Trust me.” Red stood and pulled Emma up and into a hug. “Don’t shut us out, you’d be surprised.”

“Sorry, it’s just… I’m not used to people being there for me. I mean, Mary Margaret knew some so Mom knows but… I guess I thought she told you.” Emma mumbled as she hugged Red back tight.

“Unless you told her to tell us she hasn’t told us anything. I had to pretty much growl to get her to tell me you’d done the same thing I had and even then she didn’t really out and out say it.” Red toyed with Emma’s hair, anchoring them both, “We’re always here if you need us now, Pup, no matter what. We’re not going anywhere.”

“Suppose I better tell Dad now then,” Emma stepped away and wiped at her eyes as discreetly as she could.

“I can, if you’d like.” Red offered, not making a deal of it when she was a step away from crying herself. “I can’t guarantee he won’t come in here and hug you and probably pick you up like a child afterward but I can tell him.”

“If you would? Can’t be that bad a reaction, Mary Margaret cried and hugged me like a koala.”

“Like you’re complaining.”

“…I could have been… Okay, so maybe I’m not complaining but hugs were rare!”


	38. Tricks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL AU

“YOUR daughter is trying to kill me!” Red said as she brought Emma into their room from her nursery, only candles lighting their room. Red was pale but the baby in her arms was giggling and making happy noises.

“What’d she do?” Snow asked, sitting up and against Charming who always acted as a backrest when she nursed at night.

“She rolled.” Red said tightly, handing Emma over to Snow and sitting down on her side of the bed. “Off the changing table when I went to grab a new diaper.”

“What? Is she okay?” Snow immediately starting checking the protesting baby for injuries gaining fussing they knew to be the ‘hungry’ noise instead of giggles.

“She’s fine, I caught her.” Red told her. “I caught her and she started giggling. She tried to do it again!” Red whined, laying back on the bed and staring at the canopy, “She’s trying to kill me, give me a heart attack, I just know it.”

“So you learned a new skill and think the best time to display it is in the middle of the night while high off the ground?” Snow half glared at the baby that was now quiet aside from little grumbling growls, contentedly nursing, “That’s very mean.”

“So… our daughter’s newest trick is rolling over.” Charming said with barely restrained mirth, “And she showed it of to Red.”

“One word about 'wolfs’ and I’m going to bite you.” Red warned him, hands resting on her stomach tapping lightly.

“Me? Never.”


	39. Fussing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL AU

“No, shh, just a bit longer.” Red tried to soothe Emma back into sleep, back to at least calm but the fussing had started and it wasn’t going to end anytime soon. Well, at least not with anything Red could do. She’d learned the whines and cries in the last three months and this one was definitely the ‘feed me!’ fussing that was going to lead to full fledged howls that would make her wolf form proud within minutes if not met.

“Just a bit longer?” Red bargained with the infant, “The meeting will be over soon…please?”

No good, the baby was twisting and squirming in her arms, fussing and turning her head against Red’s chest seeking something she couldn’t give.

Of course it was too much for them to ask for Emma to sleep through an entire meeting, but then again this one had gone longer than any Snow had attended since she was born.

Snow turned in her seat slightly, eyes meeting Red’s and Red realized she could hear Emma fussing.

“Okay, you win Pup.” Red sighed and walked forward, closer to the table where they sat talking.

“Just hungry?” Snow asked quietly when Red leaned over to hand Emma to her.

“Yes, she’s fine otherwise.” Red agreed, shielding Snow and Emma partially from view with her cloak.

The baby kept whining squirming and protesting an empty tummy and about the time Red straightened up again all noises stopped as Snow got her top open and Emma latched on hungrily.

She had to give her credit, Snow had gotten good enough at it no one even got a glimpse of skin, but it was still annoying the way all eyes both turned to Snow and tried not to look. She would have offered Snow her cloak as a cover if she hadn’t known that Snow would turn it down with a smile and a quiet 'but thank you’.

Red instead of returning to where she’d been resting against a pillar with Emma started slowly circling the table, watching everyone and playing guard as best she could.

She couldn’t even see any skin showing on Snow now when she walked and for their part Snow and Charming acted like there wasn’t anything different, both continuing their discussions with ease.

She couldn’t stop the growl that started when she caught eyes fixed on Snow’s top. She fought it but the grumbling noise wouldn’t stop, it was instinct to guard, to protect and they were staring!

Thankfully a few heard her as she passed and quickly averted their eyes, all turning to Charming instead, even as Snow talked.

She eventually stopped the pacing, moving to stand between Snow and Charming’s seats, arm resting on the back of Snow’s chair eying the other participants of the meeting warily.

Charming’s reached back absently and took her hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze and not letting go.

Oh, of course they could hear her she realized much to her mortification.

She tried to quell the growls again but the best she could manage was to quiet them a little more.  
The meeting was dismissed not long after and she watched as some people nearly fled after a glance at her.

“You don’t have to go growly and protective.” Charming moved his chair back enough to pull Red to sit on his lap, wrapping his arms around her middle with a grin.

“I can’t exactly control it.” Red muttered with a blush. Snow was smiling at her too. “I can’t!”

“It’s amusing but adorable all the same.” Snow assured her.

“That’s what you said about Emma’s grumbling noises when she nurses.” Red pouted.

“Like mother like daughter.” Snow said sweetly, making Charming chuckle.


	40. Bad dreams

For a moment when she woke Emma was convinced she was in her old foster home. The one with the tiny beds and the plastic sheets that would keep her from sleeping because they rustled. The sheets they’d used to embarrass her because she’d wet the bed a lot thanks to a combination of excess drinks, being developmentally delayed and not being allowed to get out of bed at nights. Not to mention nightmares both real and imagined.

She sat upright, shoving her blankets and comforters back and sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, feet on the ground trying to breathe and calm herself.

It hadn’t been a night terror, or a nightmare really. More a memory. A memory from a time where she didn’t have words to say what was wrong. Back early as she could remember.

Emma closed her eyes, rubbing at her face. She was a grown adult, she shouldn’t still be having nightmares over things that ended twenty three years ago. She had plenty of other nightmares to choose from.

She crossed the room, checking on Henry from habit and stepped into the bathroom, splashing cold water from the sink on her face to wake her more, to wash off the sweat; trying to bring herself fully back to reality.

She wasn’t there, she wasn’t a little kid anymore, shouldn’t be afraid.

That didn’t stop her from wanting to head downstairs and climb into bed with her parents.

Years and years on her own, less than a year with them and she’d become dependent.

Tea. She needed tea and a shower. A really hot one. One that would get rid of the feeling of hands on her, scratchy sheets rustling and sticky breath.

Tea strong enough to rid the imaginary smell of engine grease and sweat.

* * *

 

Emma stole Snow’s shampoo in the shower, Red’s bodywash. The two smells together enough to overwhelm memory, the hot water helping beyond what she’d hoped it could.

She knew she was making noise, probably had woken Red at least and given it was after three when she climbed in the shower she should feel sorry, but she was half hoping when she got out one of them would be there to greet her and ask what was wrong.

She stayed in till the water turned cold, only leaving when she had to, toweling off quickly in the cool air.

She brushed her hair out, braiding it back and changing into clean pajamas, a set she pulled one of David Nolan’s abandon flannel shirts on over top of.

Emma waited in the bathroom longer than she needed to, sipping peppermint tea that was far too strong and too sweet. Eventually she had to open the door, turning the light out and heading towards the kitchen, half empty cup clutched in her hands.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

She flinched at the voice, images returning for a moment before she could shove them back down.

“Woke up.” Emma admitted, setting the cup aside and looking up at Charming, “Did I wake you?”

He shrugged, “It’s okay. You feeling all right?”

“Y-yeah,” She lied, crossing her arms over her chest, fingers digging into her upper arms, “I’m fine.”

“C'mere,” He held his arm out to her in an obvious gesture and she didn’t think twice, moving quickly to rest against him and letting him wrap his arms around her in a tight embrace. Charming ducked his head, pressing a kiss to the top of hers, “Are you all right?”

“I will be.” She said, hoping it were true, hugging him tight.

He didn’t smell like sweat or engine grease. He smelled like oldspice, like Snow and Reds perfumes, like rain.

“Okay,” He pressed another kiss against her head, rubbing her back lightly with his hand. He didn’t say a word about the flannel, “Are you going to head back upstairs or do you want to lay down here for a bit?”

“Don’t wanna wake them up.” Emma said reluctantly.

“Trust me, they’re already awake.” Charming said dryly,“They’re just oh so poorly pretending not to be.”

Emma laughed quietly, face pressed against his sleep shirt, “You don’t mind?”

“Never,” He told her seriously. “C'mon, you can still get a few hours sleep before work.” He left one arm around her, leading her to the curtained off area that had been left opened and nudged her lightly towards Snow’s side of the bed.

Snow was awake, eyes opening the moment Emma reached the side of the bed. She didn’t ask, didn’t say anything, just pulled the blankets back so Emma could slide in next to her. The moment she was laying down Snow pulled her into a snuggle, pressing a kiss to her temple, “You okay? I didn’t hear you wake.”

Their bed wasn’t scratchy, it didn’t make noses when she shifted. Soft and warm, safe.

It smelled like home.

“Yeah.” Emma nodded, snuggling into Snow and resting her head against Snow’s shoulder, “Yeah, I’m okay. Wasn’t a nightmare just… just a memory.”

“Bad?”

“Yeah.” Emma closed her eyes trying to push it down again, make it go away.

“It’s over,” Snow told her softly, “You’re safe with us.”

“I know.” Emma sighed, reaching past Snow for a moment and touching her hand to Red’s side.

Red immediately grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently in comfort, “Night, Pup.”

“Night, Mama.”

It was over, it had to be.

Would it ever be over?

She pushed it away, relaxing safe with Snow and allowed herself to fall back to sleep again.


	41. Prompt 4: parents

“Why do you do that?” Charming asked, voice interrupting her thoughts as she hung up the phone.

“Do what?” Emma replied irritably, still annoyed over her conversation with Red who seemed intent on lecturing her like she were a small child over the stupidest of things.

“When you get mad or upset at all you change names,” Charming pointed out, sitting down in the other chair in her office, feet crossed at the ankles.

Emma shifted uncomfortably, “What do you mean?”

“You get pissy or we annoy you and all the sudden it’s not ‘Dad’ anymore, it’s 'Charming’ or if I’m particularly getting on your nerves 'David’.”

“That’s not… that’s not true.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest, looking away.

“Then what was that on the phone?”

“Red was–” Emma gritted her teeth at his look, “Mama thinks I need lectured like I’m younger than Henry.”

“See? You get mad, it’s no longer 'Mama’.” Charming laced his fingers together, hands resting on his lap, somehow looking almost serene, voice level, “It’s back to 'Red’. You do it to all of us. I’ve been trying to figure it out because I know it’s not just a hurting us thing, Red’s not even here and you just switched her name out.”

“It’s nothing. Habit.” Emma brushed it off, “If it’ll make you stop I’ll call her 'Mama’ every time, Cha—Dad.” Emma fought back annoyance at the unintended switch, refusing to admit Charming could be right unless she had to, “That doesn’t prove anything.”

“It really does,” Charming disagreed, “You were fine with me til I started annoying you and then I’m 'Charming’ again. I know it’s not **just** done to hurt us though I’m pretty sure it’s a side benefit. So why do you do it?”

“I don’t do anything,” Emma refuted his claim, “I’m just talking, that’s all.”

“That’s not all,” Charming pressed, “It’s distancing and hurtful and I’m certain it’s not a subconscious thing. I’ve seen you change, not just today, upon mood. So what is it?” he repeated, “Why do you change when you’re upset with us?”

“I don’t.”

“Emma.” Charming leaned forward, fingers still laced and still looking calm but now serious as well, “Talk to me.”

“It’s just.” Emma trailed off and let out a growl of annoyance, “It’s a habit.”

“Habit?” Charming pressed.

“Yes, okay?” Emma sat back in her seat, rubbing her temple with her fingers to try and fighting the headache she could feel starting, between Charming and Red it was building to impressive levels. “I don’t think about it most times.”

“Why is it habit?”

“It just is, okay?”

“Emma…”

“It’s just…” Emma rubbed her palm across her thigh, “It’s distancing.”

“I’ve noticed,” Charming nodded.

“No. I… it’s less to deal with if you’re just someone mad and not a furious parent, okay?” Emma fumbled for the words, unable to find any that could adequately explain her feelings on the subject. That could explain why she switched names out. She understood it herself but when it came time to actually explain she was at a loss.

It was just… easier.

It was less hurtful to have 'Snow’ pissed at her than it was to deal with her 'Mom’ who was upset.

To think she’d annoyed 'Red’ and not her 'Mama’.

The fact it irked them was secondary most times, a fringe benefit.

Besides, no matter their 'name’ to be called by pissed off foster parents quickly were replaced, going from 'Mama Jo’ to 'Mrs. Bennet’ without so much as a pause. Pissed off parents tended to send you away.  
Pissed off friends, not so much.

“The distance… sometimes it helps.” She finished lamely.

“Better to annoy 'Red’ than to annoy 'Mama’?” Charming questioned.

“Something like that,” Emma closed her eyes, resting her head against the back of her chair, “Still planning on yelling at me?”

“No. I wasn’t planning on it to begin with,” Charming reached across and covered her hand with his, “This isn’t an 'I’m mad and you better explain yourself’, Emma. This is more a 'I’m hurt and would like to know what’s going on’.”

“I’ll try to stop.” Emma turned her hand under his and grasped his hand lightly, “Can’t guarantee anything. Twenty some year habit after all.”

“As long as you’ll try.” Charming smiled, squeezing her hand in return, “And go apologize to Red.”

“Hey! I didn’t do anything wrong,” Emma whined, “She started it.”

“Mhmm.”

“She did!”


	42. Delayed

“Look at you, you were adorable!”

Emma looked over at Snow’s yell and frowned at the photo Snow held, “Where’d you get that?”

It was a photo of Emma when she was little, blond curls messily framing her face, wearing a white t-shirt that hung around her thighs not really concealing the teddy bear print diaper she was wearing. She even held a baby bottle in her hands tightly while she sat on the lap of a woman who’s face wasn’t in frame. She was smiling at the camera shyly and Snow was beaming just looking at it.

“It fell out of the book,” Snow gestured towards the book she’d borrowed from Emma earlier, “You were such a cute baby! I don’t know why I’m surprised.”

“I wasn’t.” Emma said, sick feeling rising, ice starting in her stomach.

“You were! You were adorable.” Snow smiled again, tracing Emma’s face in the photo.

“A baby.” Emma corrected, fighting back the urge to run. “I wasn’t a baby.”

“Toddler,” Snow amended.

“Child.” Emma swallowed hard, “I’m three in that.”

“What?” Snow laughed, shaking her head. “That’s impossible, you’re so tiny.”

_‘Tiny’_

_'Little’_

_'Small’_

_'Delicate’_

Those words and a handful of more medical and derogatory ones flew through her head and she felt sick again.

“It’s not. I’ve… I’ve got to go.” She turned helplessly in a half circle and headed towards the door, ignoring her lack of shoes and hurrying downstairs. She needed air, to get away.

“Emma? Emma, wait!” Snow followed after her, grabbing her wrist on the stairs to make her stop, "What’s wrong?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Emma tried to pull away again.

She’d finally got parents. Parent’s who didn’t know she’d spent the first 15 years of her life far behind her peers in every department. That she hadn’t been smart enough to figure out sippy cups till she was four, or normal cups until age five.

That she’d spent her younger years being poked and prodded by every specialist her social worker could find to figure out WHY she wasn’t thriving like normal infants, even with special formula and more supplements than she could count.

That she’d repeated kindergarten and first grade.

“Obviously it does.” Snow slipped her hand into Emma’s squeezing it in comfort, “Please, baby? Come in and talk to me, don’t run.”

“I’m not running, I… I have stuff–”

“You’re running,” Snow interrupted, “You didn’t even grab your shoes, Emma, and it’s freezing out.”

“It’s fine, I–”

“Emma.”

She winced at the simply said word, trying to pull away again, “Please?”

“I’m your mother, Emma, anything that concerns you I want to know. Please?” Snow asked, “Please talk to me?”

“It’s nothing. Just… just stuff from ages ago you can’t do anything about.” Emma said dismisively.

“So?” Snow tugged her hand, “Come talk to me anyway.”

Emma was torn between jerking her hand away and running and letting Snow lead her back upstairs.

She didn’t want Snow to know all of it, for Red or Charming to know.

She’d lost several families over the years due to it already.

“Please?” Snow pressed.

Emma closed her eyes, taking a breath and squeezed Snow’s hand in return,“Okay.”

* * *

 

“So, that photo.” Snow held it up again and Emma looked away. “You were three?”

“Yeah.” Emma admitted quietly.

“You’re not much bigger than Alexandra in it.” Snow commented, shifting so she could take Emma’s hand in hers, sitting together on the couch.

Emma was quiet for a moment. The question was implied, but that didn’t mean she wanted to answer it.

“They… They never found out what was wrong with me.” Emma whispered, looking down at her hand held in Snow’s, “I had every condition under the sun attached or tested for. They finally just said 'Developmentally delayed’ and 'failure to thrive’.”

“What does that mean?” Snow frowned, rubbing the back of Emma’s hand with her thumb.

“It means I didn’t hit milestones when I should have.” Emma muttered, wanting a strong drink.

“That’s not so bad.”

“I couldn’t sit up on my own till I was nine months old. Didn’t crawl till after a year. I didn’t walk till I was two.” Emma leaned her head against the back of the couch, eyes closed tight. “By two years old I could pronounce exactly two words. I had a bottle and diapers as a three year old. Getting the picture yet?”

“Emma, that’s not… that’s not something to be ashamed of. You obviously outgrew whatever was wrong.” Snow said calmly but her voice betrayed how upset she was.

“Not till I was about 16. I didn’t catch up with my peers till I was a teenager.” Emma laughed bitterly, “I got mistaken for a ten year old clear up to age fourteen! Let me tell you that was fun.”

“Baby, that’s not that horrible.”

“I tested on all those stupid mental and emotional tests they gave me as years behind where I should have been.” Emma rubbed her eyes with her free hand, determined not to cry and make it worse. “Hell it’s why they gave me up!”

“What?” Snow’s voice was quiet now and Emma winced at the tone.

“My family, the Swan’s? They were having a baby of their own. A perfect healthy little baby with no problems. They 'couldn’t handle two dependent infants’ so they gave me back. Didn’t want a fucked up kid when they could have a normal one.”

“That’s what you’re afraid of now.” Snow rubbed Emma’s hand with both of hers, “That now that I know I won’t want you around.”

“That’s how it goes.” Emma said, stomach full of ice. “Aren’t you happy you got to miss all that crap? No one wants a kid who doesn’t sleep through the night for two years and needs special formulas, extra care, lots of crap vitamins–”

“I do. I would have.” Snow said firmly, “I don’t care. I wouldn’t have cared! It wouldn’t have mattered if you were small, or sick, or 'developmentally delayed’,” She said the word like it was an annoyance to be brushed aside. “You’re my daughter, Emma. No matter what I would have kept you, loved you because you were mine and that alone makes you perfect.”

“Even when at age two I’d still be screaming my head off at two am starving and needing a bottle?” Emma asked sarcastically.

“Well, no bottles back home, I might’ve tagged Red in by then,” Snow mused and when Emma peeked at her she saw a small smile, “But it wouldn’t have mattered, baby. When I was pregnant with you I was terrified, actually.”

“Why?”

“Remember… Remember I told you about the curse? The one George put on me?” Snow asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Emma nodded once, “You cured it.”

“I was still beyond terrified those first few months I’d lose you,” Snow confided in her, moving so she could look at Emma fully and keep Emma’s hand in hers, “That one morning I’d wake to blood and pain and you’d be gone because somehow the curse hadn’t fully been cured. When you first kicked I cried. Red and Charming thought something was wrong with me, I was crying and just standing there, hand on my stomach but no, it was just you confirming you were in there, alive and well. Even then,” Snow sighed, “Even then until we talked to Rumplestiltskin I was afraid I’d still lose you. But he said you’d live. That the curse would break on your 28th birthday. I was so happy.”

“Because it meant you’d be saved.” Emma said dully.

“No!” Snow shook her head, “Because it meant you’d live, baby. You’d live and I wouldn’t lose you! You were born early and then I was scared again but you came out pink and screaming, perfectly healthy. But Emma… I don’t care what was wrong with you as a child, or even what could be wrong with you now. All that matters is that you’re my baby. My wonderful, amazing daughter. They were idiots for giving you away.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes! They don’t know what they gave up.” Snow leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Emma’s forehead and resting against her for a moment. “Now, any more photos of you when you were little?” She questioned with a little smile.

Subject over and closed, apparently.

Emma felt better, not nearly as sick or worried. Relieved in fact.

Snow didn’t care. Maybe she really wouldn’t have minded…

“Yeah. If you’re sure you want to see.”

“Of course I am!”


	43. Grounded

“That’s it!“ Snow hit her hand on the counter breaking up the argument, "Henry, go to your room now. Emma, go to work.” Two protests started and she cut them off easily, “Emma, go to work. Crime doesn’t stop because your child’s being a brat, if that were the case there’d never be any crime. Henry, go to your room till you can act respectful again. Now!” Snow ordered when they didn’t move.

They both held the same look as they left in different directions.  
“Oooh, Grandma’s mad,” Red teased, grinning when the door upstairs slammed shut hard.

Snow shook her head, “Go to work and leave me in peace.”

Music started upstairs, loud and blasting, something that would have been less funny if it weren’t bad 80’s rock obviously stolen from Ruby’s collection.

“Yes. Peace,” Red said dully as the opening strains of ‘Paradise city’ blared through the ceiling. “I think I’ll have more 'peace’ at the diner.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Snow muttered but did smile and kiss her wife before Red took off for the day.

She glanced towards the loft and shook her head, this was bound to be a fun day. So much for being on break from school….

* * *

 

“Hey, I came to get Henry.” Neal said, giving a half wave when Snow opened the door. “Figured we’d go see a movie.”

“No.” Snow told him, even as she heard Henry on the stairs, “Henry’s grounded and not going anywhere.”

“Oh, but…I’m his Dad.” Neal gestured to himself, looking confused, “Don’t I overrule any groundings?”

“Only if you’ve done more than knock up an underage girl in the back of a stolen car.” Snow smiled sweetly at him, not wanting to deal with any other annoyances today, “Henry’s staying here.”

“Mom would let me go!” Henry yelled angrily from the stairs.

“Oh, she’s 'Mom’ now?” Snow looked over her shoulder at the angry child, “This morning she was 'Emma’ and 'the worst parent ever’. Go back to your room.” Snow turned back to Neal, “And you? Just go away. You’re a bad influence.” She shut the door ignoring all protests, relocking it and turned to find Henry still on the stairs, hands clenched at his sides in anger. “I said go back to your room.” she told him sternly.

“I hate you!” Henry declared, stomping up the stairs and slamming the door hard.

“Love you too.” Snow said quietly, returning to her spot on the couch where she’d been working on a piece of embroidery. If it weren’t for the fact she knew the windows in the loft didn’t open she’d probably be worried. As it was she knew he couldn’t leave the apartment without going past her so she sat back and continued her work. Hopefully she’d finish the embellishments on Henry’s new jacket in time to surprise him before the next 'Royal meeting’ as Henry had called it. He’d wanted something that looked like the red coat Charming had had back in their lands and between herself and Charming it wasn’t that hard to make one to surprise him.

That was if he wasn’t still mad by then, Snow thought as there was a loud thump from upstairs and more bad 80’s music came blasting from above.

It wasn’t even half an hour later her phone started going off.

“Hello?” She answered, keeping the phone between her head and her shoulder so she could work still.

 _'Hey, want to explain why I just got a very bitchy lecture from Neal about me keeping him and Henry apart?’_ Emma questioned.

“Because Neal’s a whiner and it doesn’t surprise me he’s bitchy?” Snow suggested.

_'Mom!’_

“I grounded Henry. Neal came by and said he was taking Henry out – said, not asked – and I told him no because Henry’s grounded and Neal’s a bad influence.”

 _'I thought it was parents that were supposed to do the grounding, not grandparents?’_ Emma asked, clearly unsure.

“I’m Grandma, my vote overthrows yours if it’s done first. Only one allowed to overdo mine is Granny and in this case I’m sure she agrees with me.”

 _’…Just watch him? Last time someone tried to ground him he sought me out.’_ Emma told her.

“Oh, Loft windows don’t open and he has to pass me to get to any of the other ones.” Snow said cheerfully, “I’ve thought it out.”

_'Seems like… Mom?’_

“Yeah?”

_'Thanks. For…you know.’_

“No problem. Don’t forget to eat and make sure it’s something healthy. Don’t think I don’t know that Red lets you two eat junkfood for lunch.”

 _'Why ever would you think that?’_ Emma bit back a laugh, _'See you tonight.’_

“Love you.”

_'Love you too.’_

* * *

 

Snow peeked into the loft and found Henry packing his things into his backpack.

“Preparing to run?” She asked, leaning on the doorjam.

“Yes! I’m going to go live with my Dad.” Henry shoved a sweater into his bag with more force than necessary, not looking at her.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes!”

“Sorry, but no.” Snow said evenly, “You can’t live with him.”

“I can too! He’s my Dad!”

“Well, Henry, legally he has no claim on you at all. He’s not on your birth certificate – pre or post adoption -, he’s never attempted to make a claim on you, there’s no DNA test proving he’s your Dad and frankly? Him being your Dad is illegal for two more years.” Snow listed.

“What?” Henry looked confused.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Snow simplified, “You live here.”

“I don’t want to! Emma lies and you hurt people and no one lets me do anything!”

Snow ignored the sharp pain in her chest she felt at that remark. “That’s your excuse? Well, I’m not shocked. Your excuse when you ran away from Regina’s was that she 'was evil’ and you wanted your 'real mom’. I guess I better start thinking up what excuse you’ll use when you find out Neal isn’t all sunshine either. Where will you go then, to Gold?”

“My Dad isn’t a liar.” Henry glared at her, “He wouldn’t lie or kill people or use magic!”

“Wouldn’t lie?” Snow laughed and shook her head, “You really don’t know anything at all about him, do you?”

“He’s my Dad.”

“Better unpack your things, they’ll just get wrinkled.” Snow watched him moving, “Hurry up, wash your hands, and I’ll make lunch.”

“I’m not hungry!”

“Guess you’ll do till dinner then.” Snow threatened idly.

“I’ll be with my Dad by then!” Henry yelled after her when she descended the stairs.

“You’ll be in your room because you haven’t learned your lesson yet,” Snow called back.

* * *

 

“Apparently Henry is packing his things to run away and live with Neal,” Charming read off of his phone, speaking with his mouth full of chips. “Snow thinks it’s entertaining.”

“Why?” Emma asked, playing with the straw in her drink.

“Cause he’s eleven and plotting an escape?”

“I mean why’s he running?” Emma elaborated.

“Apparently Neal… Grah,” Emma looked over when Charming growled, “Apparently Neal doesn’t lie, use magic or kill people.”

“He brought that up?” Emma sat straight up, “I’m going-”

“We’re leaving Snow to deal with it as she started this and then I won’t feel like a bad person for wanting to go hit my grandson over the head,” Charming said, his voice more peaceful than he really was.

Emma sat back again, “If she hasn’t got him sorted out by dinner I’m talking to him.”

“Me next.” Charming agreed, texting back loudly.

–

Henry hadn’t come around by dinner. If anything he was worse, sulking and refusing to talk to any of them, leaving to go back to his room the moment he could.

“I’ll talk to him.” Emma offered, stacking dishes to take to the sink.

“No, leave him for now.” Snow told her, gathering glasses up, “He’ll calm down and listen.”

“Some days I think our wife has a little bit of memory loss due to the curse and doesn’t remember that kid has her genetics.” Charming whispered quietly to Red.

“Hush you.” Snow said, hitting him with a dish rag, “Help clean.”

Charming gave a mock salute and started his little chore as Red ducked around him and into the kitchen. “I could talk to him.” Red shrugged, “I promise I won’t scruff him.” she said enticingly.

“Just leave him tonight.” Snow told her again, “He’ll come around.”

“Your genetics.” Charming singsonged from the table.

* * *

 

Henry hurried as fast as he could down the fire escape without making noise. He’d waited till it was past one in the morning and everyone was asleep.

He was going to go live with his Dad and they couldn’t stop him! His Dad didn’t lie or use magic or kill people and his Dad wouldn’t ground him.

He dropped his bag to the ground and climbed down after it, jumping the last two feet. Henry grabbed his bag in his hands again and turned around, coming face to face with a very large looking wolf just sitting calmly a few feet from the ladder bottom.

“You can’t stop me from going!” Henry warned Red. It wasn’t Wolfstime so this was a conscious shift which made it all the more annoying to him at the moment.

Red just watched him, something he found very unsettling and he started backing up, “I’m going to go live with my Dad!”

Red stood and inched forward, nudging him with her nose to corral him.

“Stop, I’m not going back and you can’t make –me! LET GO!” Henry protested when he was shoved then picked up by the back of his clothing.

He felt the teeth hook through his coat and the belt of his jeans, carrying his weight evenly even as he hung in the air. “LET GO!”

Red ignored him and bypassed the apartment, trailing off in a direction he didn’t quite see as he hung onto his backpack and tried not to get motion sickness.

–

Henry found himself dropped onto the dirt after a few minutes of dizzying running that left him nauseous and covering his head.

“That’s not fair!” Henry protested, trying to stand and falling flat on his butt again in the dirt.

“What’s not fair is now I can’t taste anything but sweat and laundry detergent.” Red said once she’d turned back into a human, making a face and scraping her tongue against her teeth.

“I’m going to live with my Dad!” Henry said, blinking in hopes it would clear the dizziness away faster. “He doesn’t lie or kill or use magic!”

“Gods…” Red leaned up against a tree watching Henry, “Think you can find him from where we are?”

Henry looked around, realizing they were in the middle of the forest. “That’s cheating!”

“Using unique skills isn’t cheating. Snow, Charming, Emma? They could all find their way home from here no problem.”

“They let you take me?”

“Oh, they don’t have a clue.” Red said, crossing her arms and studying him like he was prey, so he thought. “You’re all mine.”

“What do you want?” Henry asked petulantly.

“To wring your neck and stick you in the corner like any naughty pup but we’re going 'human’ this time.” Red rubbed her hands together and walked across to stand in front of him, “I’m going to talk, and you’re going to listen. Understood?”

Henry looked up at her and swallowed hard, “Yes, Ma'am.”

“Good choice.”

Red settled herself on the dirt in front of him, legs crossed in front of her. “So you say your Dad doesn’t lie, kill or use magic?”

“No-Ow!” Henry rubbed his forehead where Red had flicked it and made a face.

“I talk, you listen.” Red scolded him. “If your Dad didn’t use magic he never would have made it to this world. The only reason he was able to come here was by using magic beyond what most magic users even manage. Jumping worlds? NOT easy otherwise everyone would do it.”

Red absently rubbed at the hem of her shirt with her nails, watching Henry. “If he didn’t lie then you never would have been given up for adoption.”

“Ho-OW!”

Red didn’t change expressions or anything, just lowered her hand again leaving the eleven year old to rub at his forehead. “See, Neal not only was a thief, but he was a BIG thief. He stole several thousand dollars worth of watches from a store and got in trouble. They were searching for him everywhere so he sent your Mom to go get them for him.” Red hated this story. She’d been told it the night before Henry’s birthday by a very tipsy Emma and had accidentally broken a door afterward by hitting it. That had been fun to explain. “Once your Mom brought him back the watches he gave her one to wear, went to go sell them and called the cops to turn her in for his crime.”

“He wou–OW!”

Red barely resisted rolling her eyes, “Then he ran off to Canada with several thousand dollars in cash leaving your Mom to go to prison for eleven months over a crime she had nothing to do with. Now, as for killing… Unless we’re talking about spirits I don’t think I can counter that particular argument.” Red admitted with some annoyance, “But his father is Rumpelstiltskin who murdered more people than anyone else alive.”

Henry opened his mouth then closed it quickly.

Red barely hid the smirk, “You can talk now.”

“He only used magic to get away from it,” Henry reasoned, “Otherwise he wouldn’t have done it.”

“Hmm.” Red made a noncommittal noise.

“And… He… Emma went to prison because she was bad, not because of him. He didn’t even know about me.” Henry countered.

“Emma’s charge was possession of stolen property,” Red watched his face carefully, “She didn’t do anything wrong but trust a man who wasn’t worth trusting.”

“He wouldn’t have done it.”

“And you know that how?”

“He’s… He’s my Dad.” Henry said weakly.

“Parentage doesn’t mean anything when it comes to morals,” Red discounted his idea, “I mean, Snow’s Dad married a teenaged girl who didn’t want to marry him, Charming’s foster-father keeps trying to kill us all and my Mom attempted to murder Snow.” Red listed and Henry could see something he couldn’t name emotion wise cross her face at the last one. “Also? If you know he’s good 'because he’s my dad’,” she mimicked his tone, “then shouldn’t you afford Emma the same mercy?”

“She lied to me.” Henry told her.

“Everyone lies to everyone, Henry, it’s how the world works. Do you think every single person you’ve ever met or will ever meet will only ever tell the truth?”

“You don’t lie.” Henry crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yes, I do.” Red nodded, “Not about really important things but one small lie will save you an infinite amount of pain with some situations. Everyone lies, Henry.”

“They… She lied and said he was dead! That’s different than a little lie.”

“Granny did that once.”

“What?” Henry’s face clearly showed every inch of his shock, even in the dark.

“Granny lied to me. I grew up thinking my parents had been killed by a hunting party.” Red shifted on the ground, wishing she’d thought enough to grab a pair of actual pajama bottoms. “When in fact I don’t know who my Dad is, or if he’s alive, and my Mom? She wanted to raise me to hate humans and always want to be a wolf. She tried to kill Snow in front of me for something Snow didn’t do.” Red trailed off, toying with the hem of her shirt. She shook her head and looked back up at Henry, “Now, think Granny should have told me who my mother really was or let me believe for however short a time that she was someone who had really loved me and was a great person?”

“If she’d told you the truth–”

“Then I would have grown up thinking I was completely unloved by my birth parents, probably even worse than I was and if I had known I was the wolf I never would have done half the things I have and met half the people I know. I probably never would have been able to fall in love with Snow and Charming. Sometimes lie’s aren’t bad, Henry. I’d take the lie that my mother loved me over the truth that she wanted to raise me a monster any day.” Red admitted softly.

“He just wants to know me.” Henry said quietly, looking down at his hands.

“You want to know him?”

“Yeah.” Henry nodded.

“Then stop acting like a brat and start treating people right and with the respect they deserve. Your Mom did what she thought was best for you at the time and gave you something you could love despite the truth that he had not just broken her heart but abandoned her to go to prison. You know how much love that took on her part?”

Henry nodded and bit his lip. “Think I could call Em-… my mom?”

Red snorted and gestured to her oversized sleep shirt stolen from Charming and the girly-boxers she wore, “Do I look like I have a phone?”

“I didn’t bring one either.” Henry frowned. “How are we getting home?”

“We’re walking.” Red said, climbing to her feet and offering him her hand.

“You’re barefoot and in pajamas!” Henry protested, “And I can’t see. We can’t walk home.”

“Give me five seconds and I can be furry and big again.” Red grinned, “I can carry you.”

“I’ll get sick if you do that again!”

“Please, that was just scruffing you.” Red laughed and rolled her shoulders, “Promise to behave and I’ll let you ride on my back.”

“Like a horse?” Henry looked suspicious and a little worried.

“Use that comparison again and you walk.” Red warned him, “No better than Snow and her 'pony’ comments.”

* * *

 

Only just over an hour went by between Henry running and Red bringing them back. Red dropped him in the alley and shifted back to human. “Well, climb up.” Red gestured.

“But, we have a door!”

“You got down this way, you’re going back this way.” Red told him seriously, barely keeping the grin inside. “Need a boost?”

“You’re cruel.” Henry said, jumping and trying to pull himself up onto the ladder.

Red snickered and stepped forward after his fifth attempt fell short. She grabbed him by his waist and lifted him up till he could get a good grasp on the ladder. “See you upstairs.”

“You’re cruel.” Henry repeated, wriggling to climb up onto the ladder itself.

When he finally climbed through the window he found Red already sitting on the back of the couch, studying the clock on the wall intently.

“Took you long enough.” Red teased.

“Ladders suck.” Henry told her pointedly.

“Yup. Go get changed and into bed.” Red ordered, pointing towards the stairs.

Henry nodded, trudging past but paused at the bottom of the stairs, “Um… Gran? Are you too mad to give me a hug goodnight?” he asked quietly, sounding almost embarrassed.

Red motioned him close and hugged him, arms around his shoulders as he clung to her as well. She pulled back and kissed his forehead, “Go to bed. You can apologize in the morning.”

“Okay. G'night, Gran.”

“Night, Henry.”

She waited till he was upstairs and not moving anymore before she slipped off the back of the couch and looked at the bed curiously. She could be nice, sleep on the couch or maybe slide in on the side where Snow normally slept, but that would mean she felt like being nice.

She shifted forms easily, pulling herself up onto the bottom of the bed and belly crawled forward, shoving her spouses apart and wriggling in place till she was comfortable.

“I hate when you do that.” Charming muttered sleepily, not bothering to open his eyes.

“Overgrown puppy.” Snow scolded, reaching out and petting Red’s ears.

Red shifted back and quickly burrowed under the covers when Charming moved them for her, “My spot.” she said simply.

“You’re cold.” Charming complained when her feet touched his legs.

“And you smell like the forest. What’ve you been doing?” Snow frowned, wrapping an arm around Red’s middle and snuggling against her back.

“Henry tried to run. I snagged him, ran off into the forest and lectured him for a bit.” Red yawned and wiggled in place, laying her face against Charming’s chest, “He’s upstairs going to bed and apologizing tomorrow.”

“Please tell me you didn’t literally scruff him like you wanted?”

Red giggled quietly and shook her head, refusing to answer any more.

* * *

 

In the morning Red found herself rudely awakened by a body falling across hers. The annoyance was quickly lifted when she realized it was Emma.

Red’s eyes shot open as Emma kissed her cheek and looked down at her, “Thank you.”

“What’d I do? I’ll do it more often.” Red rolled over to lay on her back and Emma sat up.

“Talked to Henry.”

“Oh, yeah, that.” Red stretched, popping her back, “We’re good. He apologize yet?”

“Yeah, he made me breakfast in bed. Okay, it was fruitloops and coffee, but it’s the thought that counts.” She amended at Red’s look. “Mom’s making you breakfast.”

“I rate a wakeup kiss from my Pup and breakfast? Remind me to be all lecture-y more often.” Red sat up, dislodging Emma and looked around, “Where’s Charming and Henry?”

“Henry’s gone down to the station with Dad. Something about male bonding.”

“Ah, belching contests?”

“Probably.”

“That’s not male bonding,” Red climbed out of her warm bed reluctantly, “Charming just knows Snow would win.”

“Red!” Snow exclaimed from the stove.

“Don’t deny the truth, love!” Red called back and winked at Emma. “We lived in an army camp. We joined in the boy games on occasion,” she shrugged and Emma just laughed at her.

“Wait, does this mean you got rid of his grounding?” Red asked several minutes later when she joined them at the table, now fully dressed.

“I amended it to let him out of the house with one of us adults.” Snow said, setting a plate covered in eggs, pancakes and bacon in front of Red.

Emma tried hard not to laugh when Red’s face lit up and concealed it with her coffee cup.

“I really need to go Den Mom mode more often.” Red decided, covering everything in syrup.


	44. Meetings

“How many kingdoms ARE there?” Emma demanded, sitting in the corner of the room and watching people file in. Just a ‘town meeting’ between Royals to determine what would happen and how to handle everything in town.

'Small,’ Snow had said.

'Just a few of us,’ Charming had agreed.

She could count fifteen people in the room currently and the count was still rising.

“Twelve.” Red answered, scanning each person carefully.

“Twelve?” Emma demanded, “Seriously? How many are in Storybrooke that you know of?”

“I’ve counted leaders for seven. I’m assuming the other five were shielded like Aurora and Phillip’s Kingdoms were.”

“How the hell do we all fit in one town?”

“Storybrooke is deceptively big.” Red shrugged, “Haven’t you noticed?”

“Oh shut up.” Emma crossed her arms, slouching in her chair and glowering as Snow greeted yet another person cheerfully with a hug. “What Kingdoms?”

“Hmm?”

“What different kingdoms are there?” Emma elaborated.

“Thomas’ Kingdom, Charming’s, Snow’s, Abigail’s,” Red listed off on her fingers, “There’s Aurora’s, Phillip’s and Prince Eric’s. Regina’s… I think first cousin? Maybe, something like that, runs one but I haven’t seen him around at all so I’m thinking they were shielded. Um,” Red bit her lip trying to recall them all, “Camelot, of course. Oh! And Agrabah.”

“You’re missing two.” Emma said dryly, head spinning. “Wait, Camelot’s real? Right, Lancelot.”

“Pompous ass.” Red scoffed.

“Last two?” Emma prompted.

Red frowned, murmuring her list over again and ticking them off on her fingers, “I’ll get back to you when I realize who I’m missing.”

“Good to know.” Emma ran her fingers through her hair. “Can we get name tags?”

“You’ll do fine. If you get lost just ask.”

* * *

 

The first real disturbance of the night came with an unexpected guest, or so Emma gathered he must be when Albert Spencer entered and the only thing that kept him whole and safe was a man with thick leather gloves covering his hands from fingertips to halfway up his forearm hauling Charming backwards and holding him in place with help from Thomas.

“You know the rules,” Albert smirked, “I believe I’m invited.”

“Only technically,” the man Emma knew as Sean’s – er, now Thomas’ - father warned seriously, “You know the rules too.”

“Don’t start anything, don’t take any bait,” she heard the man in gloves say quietly, “You can hit him once it’s over.”

“Fine.” Charming said stiffly, returning to his seat and moving it a little closer to Emma and Snow – Red was standing and pacing for some reason instead of sitting.

The second upset came at the appearance of Regina who dressed as if for a normal Mayoral meeting.

“No. The Evil Queen is not allowed.” Thomas shook his head.

“Agreed.” his father nodded.

“Thirded.” the man in gloves moved closer to the woman she now knew to be Abigail and scowled at Regina.

“If I have to put up with dear ol’ Dad,” Charming sneered the title, “You have to deal with my mother-in-law.”

Regina glowered at Charming in a way that would have made lesser men cringe, “Try that term again, I dare you.”

“Call her a representative of her Grandfather’s kingdom,” Snow brushed it off but watched Regina cautiously, “She knows the rules as well as we do.”

“If nothing else she is mayor,” Emma offered. All eyes turned to her and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, “I mean, she knows how everything runs around here, right? She’s sorta been playing 'simcity’ with everything for twenty-eight years.”

“Point.”

“Besides, you can hit her once it’s over,” Charming parroted the mans words back with a little smirk.

He rolled his eyes in return, “Fine.”

Emma shifted in her seat so Red could set another one out for Regina. The mayor looked distastefully at it’s location but apparently dubbed it preferable to sitting anywhere else in the room and took it. “I’m not contagious.” Emma muttered to her in annoyance.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you were.” Regina replied cordially, “As currently you’re the least likely one in this room to call for my death you’re the only choice.”

“Gee, thanks.” Emma said dryly, “I feel so loved.”

“Hmph.”

-

If politics were boring then Royal meetings and politics were coma inducing. Emma resorted to pinching her wrist repeatedly just to stay awake and keep focused.

Midas and Thomas’ father were currently bickering over the state of the local economy with Charming adding comments when he could while Abigail and someone called Eric discussed what she was pretty sure was the local fish market.

It was eye crossing and coma inducing, no wonder Red chose to stand and pace, otherwise she’d fall asleep!

How the hell did the royals do it?

-

She was only there as a representative of the Sheriff’s department, or so Emma chose to believe, refusing to admit to her 'Royal status’.

It didn’t help she really couldn’t add much to 90% of the conversation going on and could barely follow the other 10%.  
Eventually she gave up trying to follow along and stole baby Alexandra from Ella who continued on her conversation uninterrupted.

“Kid, you have no idea how lucky you are you’re too young to listen to this crap,” Emma told her baby cousin. The cousin she was only supposed to be two months older then, and wasn’t that a creepy thought?

Alexandra didn’t answer really, choosing instead to test her legs by standing on Emma’s lap, hands grasping Emma’s tightly.

“Next time we bring gameboys,” Emma said seriously, not bothering to dodge the slobbery kiss Alexandra pressed noisily to her cheek, “And sweets. Anything’s tolerable with a food bribe. Remember that, kid.”

“BELLE!” Red said suddenly with an air of triumph, pointing to Emma.

“Yes?” Belle answered with confusion, tearing herself away from a conversation about reopening the library.

“No, not you. Well, yes you but more 'I remembered who I forgot’.” Red elaborated, face turning pink. “I forgot Belle’s,” She informed Emma.

Emma bit back a laugh, “You’re still missing one.”

“Damn it.” Red frowned, returning to pacing the room.

“You’re lucky you’re too young to have to deal with all of this.” Emma repeated to Alexandra, bouncing her knees lightly to make Alexandra wobble, causing the baby to giggle. “Gameboys, I’m telling you now.”

* * *

 

“We need someone in the Mayor’s office,” George voiced his opinion, “I don’t trust Regina in charge of anything. She’s always up to something.”

“Says the man who hacked someone apart with a hatchet.” Regina shot back.

“Accused the woman who ordered entire villages slaughtered to find a teenager she’d falsely accused,” Midas added mildly, “Pot meet Kettle.”

Both scowled at the comparison.

“I agree,” Snow looked thoughtful, “and I know the town doesn’t trust her in charge either.”

“They have right,” Charming inclined his head in agreement.

“Thank you for that lovely vote of confidence,” Regina crossed her arms over her chest defensively, “I did just fine for twenty-eight years.”

“You cheated,” Emma said, half distracted by Alexandra trying to chew on her necklace, “You had complete control and everyone bowed to your whims.”

“Plus look what she did to Snow’s Kingdom,” Red pointed out.

“Replacing her completely could be problematic,” Ella countered, “After all she DOES know everything in town and how everything is run, could someone else just take over right away without that prior knowledge?”

“Potentially but you’re right,” Snow twisted her ring on her finger absently, “We could place someone else in majority control to show that we are doing something and keep the town from rioting over Regina being in charge yet still keep things running smoothly.”

“I nominate Abigail,” Belle said, watching the woman in question, “She has the experience.”

“And nothing else to do around here currently.” Midas agreed.

“Besides Frederick,” Thomas muttered quietly to Ella making her laugh and gaining him an elbow in his ribs from Snow who was obviously trying not to laugh as well.

“It would work. Would you have a problem with that, Abigail?” Charming inquired,

“Why would I have a problem working with the woman who was supposed to be my friend, arranged my kidnapping, convinced the town I was murdered, framed my friend for the crime and made me sleep with David Nolan?” Abigail asked dryly.

“Is that a 'no’?”

“I’ll manage.” Abigail said simply, “We’ll make it work. Right, Regina?”

Regina looked a cross between a sullen teenager and a kicked puppy, “Yes, fine.”

* * *

 

“I think they dislike politics,” Snow mused, nudging Ella and gesturing to where Emma sat on the floor leaning against the wall, dozing with Alexandra curled up asleep against her shoulder.

“You’d think they were the same age,” Ella laughed, grabbing her phone to take a photo, “Though I don’t blame her for getting bored. I still have issues staying awake through them.”

“Ask your husband about the time he quite literally face planted into the table,” Snow smiled, “That was a fun meeting.”

“Was that before or after you shoved him into a lake?”

“I did not shove him into a lake,” Snow said defensively. A smirk barely concealed she continued, “It was a pond and he started it.”

Ella laughed, “How could he have started it? He was ten when you went bandit. He would have been a child.”

“He was eight,” Snow agreed, “and he was being annoying and getting on Regina’s nerves as well. Technically I was forbidden dessert that night but Abigail always has had a soft spot for me and Thomas could never hold a grudge.”

“So you shoved him into a pond and he brought you a cookie?”

Snow laughed and nodded, “Pretty much. I think we should collect our children, otherwise they might just sleep there forever.”

“I hope not, I still have to get her to sleep through the night!” Ella left her seat, walking the short distance to where the two sat. “Emma?” She nudged Emma’s shoe with her own.

“Go away,” Emma mumbled sleepily. Alexandra didn’t even make a noise, happily asleep against Emma.

“I need my child back first,” Ella said, trying not to laugh.

“Nope. Mine.” Emma replied petulantly, not bothering to open her eyes. “Can’t have her.”

“The meeting’s over,” Snow pulled her phone from her pocket, capturing a photo of the snoozing duo, “You don’t have to stay awake any longer.”

“Not that you succeed in that anyway, Princess.”

Emma’s eyes snapped wide open at that, “Hey, it’s 'Sheriff’, not Princess.”

“Princess Sheriff,” Ella teased, “Now, my daughter, please?”

“Hmph.” Emma held Alexandra close for a moment then sighed, “Fine, fine, you may have her back. But only because she’s going to be all yell-y for food in a bit and I can’t offer her anything but solids. Besides,” She added, shifting the sleeping baby out for Ella to take from her, “I’ve got my own kid to go steal back from Granny.”

“Your kid isn’t as little or cute,” Ella teased, silencing the little whines Alexandra let out at being disturbed with ease.

“Yeah, but he gives better hugs.” Emma stretched and yawned loudly, “So, meeting done?”

“For now.” Snow offered Emma her hand, helping Emma to her feet, “We’ll have another next month. Sooner if something goes wrong.”

“We have to do this AGAIN?” Emma demanded in outrage, “Seriously?”

* * *

 

Emma watched as everyone left, all going their separate ways. Some packed off into the same car, some like Belle walking the short distance to her home.

She made sure Regina got to her car and left safely, keeping a close eye anyone who’d looked upset at Regina for being, before she even headed towards Snow’s jeep.

“Why so many people?” Emma complained, leaning against the hood of the jeep, “All talking at once, geez, it’s a wonder only Alexandra and I passed out.”

“Hey, you’re lucky there’s only seven of the Kingdoms here.” Charming told her, “God knows it was fun dealing with anyone from Camelot and Snow has ALWAYS had a bickering match and gone passive aggressive anytime Agrabah gets involved.”

Snow sent him a glare, “Hush you.”

“Why?”

“Vipers.” Charming said quietly, ignoring the glare, “Let’s just say Sidney’s lucky he’s in hiding still.”

“That’s still bugging me,” Emma scowled.

“Speaking of things bugging us,” Red interrupted, “Snow, I’m missing a kingdom.”

“What?”

“I was trying to list them for Emma and I’m missing one. Help me out.” Red whined.

Snow laughed, “Okay, what ones do you have already?”

“You, Charming, Thomas, Abigail, Aurora, Phillip, Eric, Regina’s cousin, Camelot, Agrabah and Belle’s,” Red listed off on her fingers and then held her hands up with aggravation, “I’m still missing one.”

Snow stared at her for a moment looking torn between laughter and disbelief, “Seriously?”

“Yes!” Red let her hands fall again, “Who am I missing?”

Snow did laugh quietly that time, “Red, darling, where did I get my name?”

Red frowned, “What? Because you were born during the harshest winter ev— oh. Oh!”

“And she’s got it.” Charming chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I forgot Elsa!” Red’s eyes went wide, “She’d kill me. I don’t want to be a wolfsicle again!”

“Who’s Elsa?” Emma asked with a frown.

“Yet another family member you get to meet eventually once we figure out how to get home,” Charming draped his arm over Emma’s shoulders, “She makes Regina’s magic look petty sometimes.”

“Not another evil step-mother of someone,” Emma groaned.

“No, not even close.” Snow shook her head. “You’ll see. We’ve got to go collect Henry anyway then maybe we can do something less dull.”

“Ooh, I wanna drive.” Red held out her hands for the keys eagerly and Emma just rolled her eyes, heading for the back seat.

She saw the man from earlier, the one Charming had threatened watching her from another car across the lot and studied him. Spencer, she remembered. The man who’d tried to put Mary Margaret away for murder.

He gave her a wave and a curious look like he wasn’t sure what to say and she waved back out of habit before climbing into the jeep. Probably not someone she should worry about.

“Don’t speed.” Charming warned Red, buckling himself into the passenger’s seat.

“Not in my car! You’ve got your own for that.” Snow settled into the backseat next to Emma.

“Why? Who’s going to arrest me?” Red asked puckishly.

“I will! I will find cuffs and arrest you,” Charming said sternly though Emma could see his smile he was trying to hide. “It will happen.”

“Try it and I will sleep on the couch.”

“Hah! You wouldn’t last an hour.”

She rolled her eyes and listened to them fight playfully back and forth. Maybe meetings weren’t horrible if it meant she got to spend time with them afterward at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Put out PRE 4a, before we even knew about the frozen arc


	45. Prompt 5: Ariel

“I think you’re missing something,” Grumpy said far too innocently, “Not just sent by Gold. Who is she?”

“Ariel,” Belle answered, sending him a look clearly doubting his sanity.

“But WHO is she?” Grumpy repeated. Even Doc was bouncing on his toes looking far too amused.

“A mermaid?” Belle answered questioningly.

Grumpy shook his head and forced himself to stop so he could whistle a tune that sounded familiar.

Something about girls… shyness…

“Kiss the girl,” Belle said out loud as it clicked, eyes widening as she looked to Ariel then to the dwarves, “She’s **Ariel**!”

“She’s Ariel!” Grumpy agreed with a giant grin.

“That’s five of seven, isn’t it?” Happy questioned gleefully.

“Yes! It’s– oh,” Belle groaned, “And she’s not here.”

“Who’s not here?” Ariel questioned, confused and left out of the loop.

“Emma.” Belle scowled, “She has to get back here eventually, right?”

“Right!” the Dwarves agreed.

“We can wait.” Belle decided, “First we’ve got to help Rumple and get her home.”

“Who’s Emma?”

* * *

 

“You’re Emma?” the redheaded woman questioned excitedly, a smile lighting up her face when Snow addressed Emma at the diner.

“Uh, yeah?” Emma frowned, not recognizing her but that didn’t say much, “Sheriff Emma Swan. You are?” She asked, offering the woman her hand.

“Ariel!” Ariel smiled brightly, shaking her hand enthusiastically, “They talked about you!”

“Who did?” Emma frowned.

“Belle and the others. The Dwarves?”

Snow snorted, covering her mouth to keep from laughing but Red wasn’t so nice.

“Okay, what’s funny about Belle and the Dwarves talking about me to Ariel?” Emma asked, still foggy from the trip and lack of sleep over the last week.

Snow fought back a smile, clearly fighting laughter as well still but she cleared her throat, managed to stop the laughter somehow. _“There you see her, sitting there across the way,”_ Snow sang softly, laughter clear in her voice, _“she don’t got a lot to say, but there’s something about her. And you don’t know why but you’re dying to try, you wanna–”_

“Kiss the girl.” Emma whispered to herself in horror. As the realization hit her eyes widened and she stepped backwards, “No… She’s not… You’re not!” Emma pointed at Ariel.

“I’m not what?” Ariel questioned in confusion.

“Prince Eric’s Ariel.”

“Oh, yes!” She grinned brightly, “I wasn’t, but now I am! Is that why Belle wanted me to meet you, do you know Eric?”

“I’m out of here,” Emma said quickly, whirling and heading towards the exit only to be snagged around the middle by two ‘Uncles’ who pulled her backwards. “Hey! Get off me.”

“Sorry, Princess.” Happy said sounding remorseless.

“Not missing this for anything.” Grumpy agreed.

“You know I could arrest you all for sexual harassment.” Emma threatened, looking around carefully for Belle. Evil mastermind. Regina leaving her locked up for ages obviously had left her too long to plot and Gold’s influence hadn’t done much better.

“What about sexual?” Hook inquired.

“You stay out of this,” Emma warned him, “We are NOT Giving her any more ideas!”

“Giving who ideas?” Tink said from behind Emma, making her jump in shock.

“Belle. Belle does NOT get more ideas.” Emma said quickly.

Regina scoffed, “Are you still running scared of Belle?”

“I’m not running anywhere.”

“Only because we’ve got you.” Grumpy grinned, “Scared?”

“Disturbed.”

“Um, what’s going on?” Ariel asked again.

“Belle has a request for you that I really doubt you’ll say no to,” Grumpy informed Ariel, “Princess here however is going to sulk no matter what you say.”

“I am not!” Emma whined, face turning pink, “This isn’t fair. And I’m not 'Princess’ I’m 'Sheriff!’”

“Sure thing, kid.”

“Shit, let me go, here she comes,” Emma tried to wriggle from their grasp, barely getting away and righting herself in time to face Belle. “Try it and regret it,” Emma warned her.

“Try what?” Belle asked innocently, a smile belying her innocent facade, “I’m not trying anything!”

Obviously her mothers were of no help, both still laughing or trying not to but maybe… She spotted Charming talking with Gold and waved him over frantically. He smirked and gave a mock salute in reply.

The hell, people? Even Henry looked amused by this.

“Why is she so upset?” Ariel asked Belle.

“Nothing, really, she just has some issues,” Belle said said sweetly. “So, Ariel, has Eric told you about movies yet?”

“Um, moving pictures!” Ariel nodded, “I’ve seen them. They’re very strange.”

“Has he mentioned the word 'Disney’?” Belle may have been smiling but Emma could see the evil in them.

“Movies? Disney?” Emma heard Tink whisper the words questioningly to Regina.

“I’ll show you later,” Regina replied dismissively.

“Yes, something about our story being in something called 'Disney’.” Ariel nodded again looking curious, “Why?”

“Well, you see, there are 'Disney Princesses’ and amongst them—”

Emma’s phone went off then, a loud alarm noise that was not ignorable. YES.

That was either a station reroute or one of the dispatchers.

She held her cellphone up and pointed to it triumphantly, “HA! Work calls.”

Belle narrowed her eyes at Emma, “You can run but you can’t hide, hon.”

“Hah,” Emma quickly ducked around her Uncles, heading for the door, “Traitor, with me!” she called to Charming.

“I’m not a traitor,” He protested, “Snow was laughing! Red too!”

“Yeah but they’re my mothers, they thrive on my embarrassment. You’re supposed to be on my side!” Emma made a rude gesture back to her family inside the diner before answering her phone.

* * *

 

“Psst, Granny, am I safe?” Emma hissed, looking around the diner carefully.

“Hey, can’t I answer that?” Red whined trying to look offended.

“No. Because you lie.” Emma grumbled.

“For now,” Granny agreed, “Usual?”

“Yes. Please.” Emma looked around again out of habit before leaning against the counter, resting on her arms, “You may think it’s funny but it’s mortifying.”

“Hmm, being kissed by a bunch of pretty girls, I can just imagine how terrible that is.” Red said dryly.

“It is!”

“Mhmm.”

“Seriously!” Emma barely restrained herself from stomping her foot, “So far we’ve had my MOTHER,” Emma listed on her fingers, ignoring Granny’s laugh for her doing it, “a woman who nearly got me punched or disemboweled by a pissy warrior, Belle being a brat, my COUSIN who is married and who I got to see in labor, thanks, and now we’ve got a freaking fish with legs who’s engaged.” Emma let her hands drop to the counter, “It’s not fair and not cool, people.”

“It’s funny as hell and you blushing is cute.” Red poked Emma’s cheeks which were indeed pink currently.

“You’re not funny.” Emma groused, batting Red’s hand away. “You just find amusement in my humiliation.”

“Yes, there is that,” Red admitted with a grin, eyes on something over Emma’s shoulder.

Emma whirled worriedly, hands up defensively only to find Belle, “Brat.”

“Princess,” Belle replied cheerfully, smiling, hands behind her back.

“You’re not getting me this time,” Emma warned her, “Seriously.”

Belle just smiled, “I wasn’t planning on doing anything at all to you.”

“No, you just plot and move about pawns to try and embarrass me.” Emma crossed her arms, watching Belle.

“Me embarrass you?” Belle put on her best innocent face, “I would never do anything of the sort.”

“I’ve got at least one kiss and several drunken memories that say that’s a lie.”

“'Drunken memories’?” Red demanded.

Emma waved her off, “That’s neither here nor there, point being your best friend is a brat.”

“I am not!”

“You–” Emma felt a tap on her shoulder and turned without even thinking, so used to family members catching her attention that way to mess with her. Far from a family member teasing her or a random hug this time she found herself greeted with two hands cupping her face and a pair of lips pressed against her.

It took a moment to get past the surprise, another moment to regain her senses and overall several seconds to step back which she did stumbling, grabbing the counter to keep from falling.

“What the hell!”

Ariel giggled, bouncing in place, “Did I do it right?” She asked Belle eagerly.

Belle’s face was red from suppressed laughter that came out in giggles, “Perfectly!”

Emma scowled, glaring at Red who was outright laughing, “It’s not funny!”

“Please tell me someone got a photo of that?” Granny questioned the few other patrons of the diner who were currently laughing or talking amongst themselves.

“You know what?” Emma narrowed her eyes at Belle, “I think you’re doing this because you want to do it!”

“Of course I’m doing it because I want to,” Belle wiped her eyes where they were tearing up from laughing, “Why else would I?”

“No, I don’t mean playing chess master because it’s funny. I think you’re getting other people to kiss me because YOU really want to kiss me again.”

The laughter stopped so fast Belle choke, “What!?”

“That’s it! You want to kiss me and can’t figure out how so you get other people to do it for you!”

“That’s not it, not at all! You wait right there,” Belle nearly yelled when Emma walked away, snagging her coffee from Granny at the counter and heading for the doors.

“You can admit you have a crush, you are a big girl.” Emma called over her shoulder.

“I do NOT have a crush!” Belle protested, following after Emma still protesting.

Ariel looked towards Red who was still laughing, “Are you sure she’s not mad at me?”

“Emma? Nah.” Red shook her head, “Annoyed and embarrassed, yeah, but she’s not mad.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. A little embarrassment is good for character anyway, right, Granny? Anyway, what can we get for you?”


	46. Messes

“Don’t even think it.” Snow pointed her finger menacingly at the mud and water soaked Wolf standing in the doorway of their apartment. “Don’t move, don’t you dare do it.”

“Do what?” Emma questioned, not seeing Red moving at all and not recognizing that glint in her Mama’s eyes.

“If you shake you’re cleaning it all up AND sleeping on the floor.” Snow threatened, taking a full step back away from her currently furry wife.

The wolf looked mutinous, tail wagging lightly, ears twitching and she stretched her paws in front of her, arching her back and tapping claws against the wooden floor in a mock bow.

“Don’t you dare.” Snow repeated, watching the claws barely scrape against the floor.

Red’s nose twitched as did her ears, tail wagging slightly more.

“Try it and see what happens.” Snow warned.

Red paused for a moment, yawning wide and stretching.

The moment Snow looked like she might relax however Red moved, closing her eyes and tilting her head before her entire body began to shake like a dog drying off, sending water and mud in every direction.

“RED!”

Emma chanced a look up when the noise stopped as did the water and mud just in time to see Red shift back and stretch lazily looking perfectly put together and clean. She lifted her arms over her head, hands grasping the opposite wrist and yawned, popping her back in another stretch. “That felt good.” Red said happily, looking around the now dirty main room.

“I’m going to kill you.” Snow threatened darkly, wiping mud from her shirt.

Red stuck her tongue out at Snow, “Wouldn’t dare.”

“Watch me.” Snow took one threatening step towards Red and the woman squeaked, bolting out the door again.

Emma shook her head when Snow chased after Red and looked around the mud and water soaked room, “Guess I’m playing clean up…”


	47. School yard fights

They hadn’t had nearly as many problems with children at the school after the curse broke as they’d expected. For the most part the children adjusted a lot better than their adult counter parts.

There wasn’t much bullying – well, no more than usual – and a lot more of them did their homework.

There was a _slight_ problem when it came to fealty however, especially when it came to students listening to some teachers.

Some children absolutely refused to do gym class so long as Frederick was in charge because he was Princess Abigail’s husband and not someone they HAD to listen to, or even not someone they liked – going off of parental bias – which led to them hiring a secondary gym teacher.

And some children… well, Snow found herself having a hard time on occasion, especially when some of the children mimicked their parents and blamed her for the Curse bringing them to a new world.

IT was something most times she could work with and get resolved quickly but other times…

She was just trying to break up a game getting a little too rough during recess, trying to get the kids to separate and take a brief moment to calm themselves before they got into a full on fight about whether or not one child was in fact ‘it’. Of course it wouldn’t go smoothly.

“ **I** don’t have to listen to **you** ,” the boy told her with a sneer, straightening his uniform shirt where it had been mussed in their game, “You’re not my Queen.”

Far from the anger she should have felt at his insult, she only felt mild annoyance, mostly towards his parents for not teaching him enough manners to not insult royals; for teaching him that he didn’t have to listen to someone he didn’t like.

Before Snow could retort about while she may not have been his Queen she WAS a teacher and therefore deserved respect all the same the boy was hit by a blur of white and blue that sent him sprawling. It took her a moment to realize he’d been tackled by a fellow student.

“DON’T YOU TALK TO MY GRAMS LIKE THAT!”

Oh no, no, no!

“Henry!” Snow yelled in surprise, stepping back automatically from the two boys that were now engaged in some kind of wrestling match on the muddy ground.

Henry was the smaller of the two yet somehow seemed to have the upper hand for the moment.

It was nearly impossible to haul two feuding children apart on her own she quickly discovered, because even if she could pull them apart she couldn’t hold them both away from each other so it took several minutes and another teacher to get the boys separate and another few minutes to get both calm or at least something near calm.

“Henry, stop,” Snow said quietly, holding her fuming grandson back from the other boy that even the male teacher the children standing by had fetched was having trouble keeping still.

“He insulted you!”

He was as bad as his Grandfather. Snow held him firmly but tried to keep from causing him any discomfort at all, one arm wrapped around his chest, one around his waist, “I don’t care, you need to stop this, NOW.” She warned him in her best Grandmother voice.

Oddly it seemed to work faster than just talking to him had and he slumped back, leaning against her, “He started it.” Henry muttered petulantly.

“I don’t care. Office, now. Him too.”

* * *

 

She probably should have used her Royal standing to get Henry out of a punishment, Snow realized standing in the office with a crestfallen little boy facing three days of suspension, it would have worked especially well given the Principal had no Royal status at all and if she remembered correctly was actually one of Charming’s subjects, but somehow using nepotism didn’t seem right in this situation.

Snow did convince the principal not to call either of his mothers though. It was close enough to when she would normally leave to go home that she could take him herself and talk to him first.

* * *

 

Henry’s face and clothes were a mess of mud and blood and if they didn’t get some ice on it soon he was going to have one hell of a black eye.

“So…” Snow said slowly once Henry was perched on the island counter, the family’s first aid kit open beside him along with a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth, “Do you want to tell me what that was about?”

Henry made a face, “He insulted you.”

“Mhmm, and so you had to tackle him for that?” Snow set about gently cleaning the mud and blood – whose she didn’t really care to think about – off of his hands and face.

Henry tried not to squirm away from her but it was hard when the damp cloth touched near the cut on his lip. “Yes! He’s not allowed to talk to you like that.”

“I’m sure I can stand my feelings being hurt by a child, Henry. It’s not really deserving of a fight. Maybe a talking to but other than that…” Snow trailed off, deeming him cleaned enough for bandaging. “You don’t hit people just because they insult me, Henry.”

“Mom punched a guy cause he called you a name,” Henry pointed out sulkily, “And Gramps punched Doctor Whale!”

Snow fumbled the cap from the antibiotic tube at his words. Surely he didn’t know THAT story. “What, um, what about Doctor Whale? Do you… do you KNOW why your Gramps hit him?” She questioned nervously, really hoping that wasn’t a conversation anyone had had with him.

Henry shrugged, “He called you a name and Gramps didn’t like it. Gran told me.”

Oh thank the Gods.

“Right, yes. Names.” Snow nodded, “Well, for one we’re going to be having a long family talk about how violence does not solve problems.” She carefully dabbed some of the antibiotic gel on any scratches or cuts, but didn’t find any she found needing of a bandage besides one on his hand that was probably from hitting the ground.

“But it did. It shut him up.”

“And you got suspended for it.” Snow pointed out.

“So did he!”

“I now understand what Red means about talking to brick walls,” Snow mused to herself.

“What?”

“Nothing. Henry…” Snow sighed and took his hands in hers, brushing her thumb over the bruise on the knuckles of his right hand, “I don’t need you to fight because someone insulted me. I can handle it myself.”

“But–”  
“Listen,” She interrupted him, waiting till he was quiet again, “I’m an adult, I can fight my own battles. As it stands I was going to remind him I was a teacher and he should respect me for that alone and if he hadn’t, well I was thinking detention but the point is I don’t like you getting in fights. I don’t like you getting hurt.”

“But names hurt too.” Henry protested.

“Only if I let them. Trust me, I’ve heard worse from closer people.” Snow told him. “I know that doesn’t justify it but he doesn’t know any better yet. Promise me you won’t fight anymore for me?”

Henry looked sullen, fingers tightening around hers, “I can’t promise that. Someone else might say something mean.”

“Promise me you won’t hit anyone, or tackle anyone, because you think they insulted me.” Snow pressed, “All it does is make you look bad.”

“Why? They–”

“Are using words. You can say all you want back to them,” Snow allowed, knowing that was probably setting herself up for more trouble but she’d rather be called in for a cursing ten year old than called in to find her Grandson with a black eye. “But I don’t want you getting physical.”

“Can I hit back if they hit first?” Henry asked with a heavy hearted sigh.

“Only if they hit you first AND it was unprovoked on your side.” Snow conceded.

“What does that mean?”

“No getting them riled up so they’ll hit you.” Snow simplified, “Agreed?”  
Henry fidgeted in place, looking just like his mother, “Fine.”

“You have to say it or it doesn’t count.” Snow half-teased, “Like a Prince, remember? 'My word is my bond’.”

Henry winced at that, obviously not liking that part of the agreement but he swallowed and nodded again, “I promise not to hit or tackle anyone just because they insulted you.”

“And?”

“And I won’t provoke them into a fight just so I can hit them back.” Henry added reluctantly.

“Thank you.” Snow smiled, “Now go get changed and bring these down here to soak. Hopefully we can get the blood out of them before it stains.”

* * *

 

“Hey,” Henry grinned when he returned downstairs, old clothes bundled under his arm. He tossed them in the direction of the laundry room and continued to her side, “Guess what?”

“What?” She asked obediently, scooting aside on the couch so he could sit down next to her.

“I think I got a tooth knocked loose!”

“Baby or adult?” Snow asked, checking when he toyed with his loose tooth to see.

“Baby,” He grinned, “Does the tooth fairy give money if you lose a tooth in a fight?”

“According to your Gramps, she does.” Snow resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “So, you get a choice now.”

“What choice?” Henry leaned into her and she wrapped her arm over his shoulders.

“Well, we’ve got two mothers and three grandparents to inform exactly what happened today,” Snow barely concealed a smile when he stiffened. “Your choice is in which order that happens. My advice would be telling Regina first. Preferably in the diner. We can get you some ice for your eye and your afternoon snack and while she lectures you I can attempt to keep Red and Granny from asking 'who won’ and backing you up.” She paused when Henry laughed to himself, “At least then I have Regina on my side when I lose all chance of getting Emma or Charming to take this seriously.”

Henry grinned at her though he looked like he was at least attempting to look a little guilty, “If we go to the diner do I get a milkshake?”

“I should say 'no’ since you’re in trouble but I don’t doubt Red would get you one anyway. Go get your shoes on while I call Regina and have her meet us.”

“She’ll take my side,” Henry told her, already running across the apartment to grab his shoes where they’d been kicked off near the door, “She’s the only one allowed to insult you.”

“Says who?”

“Her!”


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL:AU

They were big important meetings, there were several deals and mergers to be worked out with different lords, different Kingdoms – most of whom depending on trading deals set up with Snow, Charming or Abigail – so of course it made sense their child wasn’t behaving.

No, their perfect little Angel who always played nicely could not seem to get along with anyone when her Parents weren’t at her side.

Five different verbal altercations had been broken up in the past week, two nearly becoming violent. But Red couldn’t be with her all the time, she had to be part of the meetings too and Emma got too bored sitting in with them.

Plus there were other noble children to play with – servant’s children too, her normal playmates. Abigail had brought her two, Aurora their daughter – though that infant sat on Mulan’s lap 90% of the time – and even Alexandra had come.

Alexandra was fine, Abigail’s children were fine. The children from other Kingdoms or of the different visiting Lords however it seemed were fair game.

“Just once I would like to leave a meeting and not find out my child has been causing problems,” Snow groaned once one of the Nannies in charge of watching after the children – along with several guards of course – left.

“Normally she’s not a trouble maker,” Red sighed, “I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

“Maybe she dislikes sharing her normal playmates?” Abigail suggested, giving a little wave when her husband disappeared off with Charming and Ella, “Do they think we don’t know they’re going to raid the kitchens and distribute sweets to the kids before lunch?”

“Apparently.” Snow shook her head, “Emma doesn’t get any sweets because she’s been fighting so of course he’s probably going to sneak her some.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not as much as I should.”

It wasn’t but a few minutes at most before Abigail’s youngest came running for them at full sprint. He would have knocked Abigail over if it weren’t for Red catching him last minute and lifting him up.

“What’s wrong?” Abigail asked immediately, noting the tears and the distressed look.

“Emma’s gonna kill him!” Jon sobbed, reaching out for his mother.

Abigail took the five year old from Red’s grasp immediately, “What happened?”

Red and Snow didn’t stick around to hear what was wrong, both running fast as they could to where they knew the children were.

The closer they got the louder the noises even to Snow’s ears. Children chanting, adults yelling, blows landing.

Emma had some kid pinned on the ground – bigger than her by the looks of it – and was straddling their waist, one hand holding the front of their tunic as she hit them repeatedly with the other.

Red managed to get the crowd around to part, the kids quieting immediately at the sight of the Queen looking furious as Snow hurried forward, grabbing Emma by the back of her shirt and trying to pull her away.

Emma shoved at her without even looking, pushing her away.

The second time Emma tried it Snow caught her by her wrist, holding it in place so she couldn’t pull away. “Emma, STOP.”

Emma nearly froze when she looked up at Snow, face red, tears streaming down it.

Snow hooked her arm around Emma’s torso and physically pulled her daughter off the other kid,an older boy it looked like,and a few feet away, “Enough.”

The boy was a mess, face red, nose and mouth dripping blood, looking completely dazed and in tears as well.

“Take her,” Red told Snow, barely sparing a glance to Emma, eyes flashing to gold and back, “I’ll sort things out and come find you.”

“Okay.” Snow wrapped her arm around Emma’s shoulders and led her off, ignoring the crowd and everyone around, focusing instead on the small hand clutching her top and the hiccuping sobs of her daughter trying to stop the tears.

* * *

 

“Sit,” Snow gestured for Emma to sit down on the edge of their bed and wet a cloth in the water basin, wringing it out and returning after a moment.

“What happened?” Snow asked gently, wiping Emma’s face clean with the cloth, cold water soothing against flushed skin.

“’m sorry.” Emma choked out, more tears falling.

“Just talk to me, baby,” Snow felt a little ill washing blood off of Emma’s hands but made sure they were clean anyway, “Please?”

“’m sorry.” Emma said again, nearly jerking her hand away when Snow touched it.

The skin was split and raw in places, knuckles obviously going to bruise. Emma didn’t know how to fight hand to hand, it wasn’t a skill they’d ever felt the need to teach her; of course she’d manage to hurt herself that way.

She brushed the cloth gently over Emma’s hand again when it started to bleed and held it there for a moment till it stopped.

“Emma, I need you to talk to me,” Snow cupped Emma’s face with her free hand, wondering what could cause her nearly eleven year old child to go into a rage enough she’d hit someone, “I need you to tell me what happened.”

“’m Sorry.” Emma managed again, voice cracking and tears starting anew.

“Okay, shh, it’s okay,” Snow gathered her daughter into her arms, abandoning the cloth and holding Emma close, letting the child cry, “It’s okay.”

Snow settled back on the bed, pulling Emma onto her lap and letting her cling to her. She rubbed Emma’s back lightly with her palm and made soothing noises until after several minutes the tears stopped.

“Emma,” Snow said softly, “I’m going to get you some new clothes to change into and then we’re going to lay down for a little while.” Emma was starting to fall asleep against her anyway and it’d give the child time to calm and them time to figure out what had happened, “And then later we can all talk. Deal?”

“Deal,” Emma agreed, voice thick from tears and exhaustion.

* * *

 

She got Emma changed into a simple shirt and pair of leggings, tucked away in their bed instead of Emma’s with her baby blanket, and tossed the other clothing into the hamper.

She nearly gave in to the desire to just throw the blood splattered shirt out as sick as it made her feel to see.

“It’s okay,” Snow said calmly, brushing Emma’s hair with her fingers as she tried to relax into sleep, “It’ll be okay.”

“’m sorry,” Emma mumbled again, fingers clutching Snow top to hold her near.

“I know,” Snow pressed a kiss to Emma’s forehead and held her as she fell asleep. She couldn’t say it was okay, couldn’t grant forgiveness for a crime that hadn’t been explained yet.

Once she knew, once Emma had been punished sufficiently, then she’d grant forgiveness.

It was almost terrifying, wondering what could make their normally calm little girl get so mad she’d hit someone. That she’d actually take someone to the ground and keep hitting them.

She didn’t want to think about it, tried to calm her own mind and just held Emma till Red came to find her.

“What happened?” Snow asked quietly, shifting on the bed so she could watch Red without having to wake Emma.

“I have two conflicting stories. One given willingly and by half of them saying that the boy started it, he started everything and he deserved it.”

“And the other side?”

“Flat out refused to answer or talk to me and only when Charming showed up and used his Dad voice did they start talking saying that EMMA started it and it was a completely unprovoked attack,” Red informed her, absently brushing Emma’s hair behind her ear with her fingers.

“Any elaboration from either side?” Snow asked, heart still tight at the thought of her daughter starting any violence.

“Alexandra and Beth were more than happy to provide me with Emma’s side of it from what they saw,” Red said, voice calm but Snow knew she was anything but calm even before her eyes flashed gold.

“And?”

“And apparently the other ‘side’ has been given Emma hell the entire time they’ve been here.”

“Why?” Snow frowned, reaching out and taking Red’s hand in hers.

“Because of me.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m a Beast, I’m a Peasant, I’m not her Mother and I have no place here,” Red recited with more than a little hurt, “And since I am not her mother she shouldn’t have to listen to me. There were other insinuations from the older ones that thankfully Alexandra and Beth didn’t understand so I doubt Emma did.”

“Oh Gods, Red…”

Red smiled wryly, “Once again I’m the cause of people getting hurt.”

“No, you’re not,” Snow said more fiercely than she’d intended, “Other people are the ones at fault, not you.”

“Snow–”

“No! You are her mother, you belong here. Obviously Emma thinks the same if she’s willing to defend you in a physical fight.”

“Emma’s a kid, she–”

The child in question made a whining noise in her sleep, opening her eyes and looking around in confusion. “Mama?”

Red forced a smile, “Hey, Pup.”

Emma scrambled out from under the blankets and nearly tackled Red in a hug, clinging to her tightly, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Red held her close, pressing a kiss to her cheek, “It’s all going to be okay.”

Emma didn’t respond, just clung to Red, refusing to let her go.

Eventually Red just stretched out on the bed with her so she’d lay back down.

“You belong,” Snow told her pointedly, pressing a kiss to both of their foreheads, “I’m going to go talk to Charming, see if he’s got any of them to admit what happened.”

“Snow…”

“Stay here, your Pup obviously wants you,” Snow emphasized 'your’ and leaned down to steal a quick kiss, “Relax. I’ll be back.”

* * *

 

Snow found Charming still standing outside, observing several children playing games again and a few who looked less than pleased standing up against the wall.

“Find anything new?”

“After some interrogations? They started it,” Charming told her, glowering at the ones standing aside, most of whom looked away the moment his gaze landed on them, “They’ve been giving Emma hell about having three parents since they got here. They’ve apologized to me but it’s Red and Emma I’m making them apologize to.”

“They agreed? Their Parent’s agreed?” Snow slipped her arm around Charming’s waist in comfort and he relaxed some, resting his arm over her shoulders.

“Well, even if they agree with the little… urchins the parents have agreed. It’s amazing what being totally dependent on someone for survival will do to someone,” Charming looked a little amused by that.

“'Make them behave or no trades’?” Snow guessed.

“Damn right. Thomas, Aurora, Phillip and Abigail agreed. I voted in your stead,” he informed her, “So it was apologize and mean it or forfeit any trading deals with six kingdoms. They smartly have chosen to apologize. How’s Emma?” He asked, voice softening.

“She’s currently asleep and clinging to Red. Her hand’s a bit torn up and red. It will probably bruise decently,” Snow admitted, “She didn’t say anything about what happened, just kept apologizing. I’ve never seen her look so angry, Charming. She was going to kill him.”

“Everyone has a snapping point,” Charming pressed a kiss to the top of her head, resting his cheek against her for a moment, “We just didn’t notice she was reaching hers.”

* * *

 

“I’m sorry,” Emma mumbled against Red’s neck when she woke, hands still clutching her mama to keep her close.

“Why are you sorry?” Red asked gently, rubbing her back to keep her calmer.

“I wasn’t supposed to hit anyone or fight,” Emma took a breath, “But I tried not to, I tried to walk away and ignore them but I couldn’t go far and… and then they’d follow and it’d be worse.”

“Why didn’t you talk to us?” Red questioned, feeling as bad as Emma did.

“You were busy with meetings and important things like trades. I can take care of myself.”

“Uh huh,” Red leaned back, looking Emma in the eyes, “but that doesn’t mean you should have to. These are things we should know about, Pup. Things you should tell us.”

“But they were saying mean things about you,” Emma told her, getting angry again, “I couldn’t tell you!”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” Emma admitted, tearing up.

“Oh, Pup,” Red gathered her close in a hug again, sitting up on the bed, “Do you think those things?”

“What?”

“Do you think I don’t belong, that I’m not your 'Real mother’?”

“NO! You’re my Mama,” Emma sounded almost lost, completely astounded, “You’re supposed to be here. You’re my Mama,” She repeated, obviously confused.

It made Red feel a lot better, “Then that’s all that matters to me. I don’t care what anyone else thinks so long as my family loves me.” It was only a little lie, but it seemed to calm Emma down a lot.

“Do I have to apologize to Adam for hitting him a lot?” Emma asked after a few moments of quiet, happily ensconced in Red’s arms.

“No.” She knew Charming would agree with her and probably Snow as well but… there was no way she was going to let her Pup be punished for trying to defend her, “He’s going to apologize to you.”

“Why me?”

“Because it was him picking on you.” Red pressed a kiss to Emma’s forehead, “And you didn’t start it.”

“But he was being mean about you so he should have to say sorry to you,” Emma insisted, “Because it wasn’t nice at all and he was lying. They were lying.”

Red’s heart ached a little and she hugged Emma closer, “But he said it to you.”

“Still should apologize to you,” Emma muttered, clearly unhappy but rested her head back against Red’s shoulder again, fingers playing with Red’s curls. “Is Daddy real mad?”

“What makes you think he’s real mad?”

“He didn’t come up and I’m not s'posed to hit people.” Emma mumbled.

“No, you’re not but he’s not either.” Red fought back a smile at the memory of Charming’s little grin before he could stop it when learning that his daughter had been fighting in defense of her Mama and that she’d won.

“He’s not?” Emma asked hopefully.

“No, he’s not. Trust me.”

“Mom is.”

“What makes you say that?”

“She was crying too. I don’t think I’m supposed to know.”

“Your Mom doesn’t like violence. Especially violence that involves her family.”

_'Violence that reminds her even good people can turn bad.’_

“I had to,” Emma toyed with Red’s curls, clearly uncomfortable and a little guilty, “He was saying bad things and they were mean and he wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t let him say mean things about you. You’re my Mama,” Emma shook her head, “They’re not allowed to say things about you.”

Red swallowed the lump in her throat, “No?”

“No!” Emma said strongly, sounding like Snow for a moment. “Just cause I wasn’t in your tummy doesn’t mean you’re not my Mama,” Emma’s hand tightened around the material of Red’s top and a glance showed a dark look that slowly faded to uncertainty, “R-right?”

She looked as insecure as Red had felt leading up to Emma’s birth and still felt whenever someone questioned her relationship to Emma.

“That’s right,” Red agreed, trying hard not to cry. “I didn’t carry you but I loved you from the moment I knew you existed. Back when all that proved you were there was that little heartbeat only I could hear.”

“I made you fall asleep,” Emma smiled.

“That’s right,” Red laughed, “Always tried to make me sleepy. My sneaky little Pup. That little heart beat that only I could hear,” Red pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“So Mama knew I was there,” Emma shifted on Red’s lap and wrapped her arms around Red’s neck hugging her tightly and hiding her face for a moment, “I love you, Mama.”

“I love you too, Pup.” Red hugged her back just as tight.

“I don’t care what anyone says,” Emma confided sounding tearful, “You’re my Mama.”

“And you’ll always be my Pup,” Red agreed, fighting tears, “It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. All that matters is what you say.”

* * *

 

“We need to have a talk, Princess,” Charming declared when he entered the room, Snow not far behind him.

Red was still sat on the bed, Emma cuddled up against her quite happily.

Emma moved to sit up, looking unsure and guilty again, “We do?”

“We do.” Charming nodded and crouched down at the side of the bed, gently taking her hand in his. He examined the split knuckles and obvious bruising, “We really have to work on your form,” he murmured to himself making Red laugh.

“Right,” he cleared his throat, “So we talked to everyone else about what happened.”

“And?”

“And they admitted they started it, that Adam’s the one who provoked you,” Charming informed her, “They’ve promised to apologize and stay away from you the rest of the time they’re here – which shouldn’t be all too long, for some reason their parents are trying to get things done so they can leave soon.”

“Okay,” Emma bit her lip, looking unhappy still.

“What’s wrong?” Snow questioned gently.

“I… They don’t have to apologize to me if they apologize to Mama because it was her they were being mean about,” Emma said quickly, “I was mad but it was her they were being mean and saying bad things about not me.”

“They’re going to apologize to her too,” Charming assured her.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Emma leaned forward, hugging Charming tight and letting him lift her into his arms, “Thank you.”

“We still have punishments to talk about,” Charming told her sternly, sitting on the edge of the bed, her now on his lap.

“Okay.” Emma nodded, looking down at her hands, not even protesting.

“No sweets for the next week, no playing out with the other kids. You can play with Alexandra, Beth and Jon in your nursery only,” Charming listed, trying hard not to smile when she looked up at him in surprise, “and no Archery practice with Mom.”

Only one of those things was a big deal to her right now. Snow wasn’t practising near as often as normal with everyone around and letting her play inside with her friends instead of outside with everyone else was something she’d love.

“Th-that’s it?”

“That’s it.” Charming agreed, “You behave and we’ll keep it light, agreed?”

“Agreed,” Emma said quickly.

“You need to know violence isn’t an answer, Emma,” Snow told her, sitting down on Red’s other side, “It only makes things worse.”

Emma nodded looking contrite, “He was being mean about Mama. I didn’t think I just… it happened.”

“I understand, just be more careful in the future, okay? Come to one of us instead of letting it get that far.”

“I promise,” Emma told her, resting her head against Charming’s chest, “Do I have to go down for dinner?”

“Yes, but you don’t have to stay the entire time if you don’t want.” Snow entwined her fingers with Red’s and smiled, “You and Mama can come back up early and make a nest if you want.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” Snow agreed. No one would care if Emma snuck out a bit early, or Red really.

Most wished they could themselves.

It just meant Frederick and Aurora had no one to gossip to and maybe the girls would all behave for once.

* * *

 

Emma seemed reluctant to eat at all but with a little coaxing from Red and Snow she ate a little bit from her plate, mostly stealing from Red’s plate.

Eventually before desserts were served and before most were done even Emma indicated her desire to leave.

“We’ll be up in just a bit,” Snow promised, kissing Emma’s temple and letting the girl stand, followed close behind by Red.

She noted that once they were out the door Aurora said something quietly to her husband and then handed her daughter to Mulan to hold, whispering to her as well.

Both spouses hid smiles badly and watched Aurora follow out after the duo.

“Do I want to know what you’re wife is up to?” Snow questioned them with narrowed eyes.

“What makes you think she’s up to anything?” Mulan asked innocently, snuggling their child close.

“She’d never do anything, I have no idea what you’re implying.” Phillip agreed, hiding a laugh by taking a drink from his goblet.

“I believe we should be afraid.” Charming informed Snow seriously.

“Agreed.”

It was a few minutes before Aurora returned, beaming like it was Christmas and sitting back down in her original spot.

“Do I want to know what you just did?” Snow questioned the grinning woman.

“Why do you say that like I might have done something wrong?” Aurora asked, obviously suppressing laughter.

“Because I know you.” Snow said pointedly.

“I did nothing wrong. I merely encouraged the Knightly qualities displayed in a young child who defended her family.” Aurora replied with barely disguised laughter.

“I see,” Snow eyed her suspiciously, Aurora was a bad liar but she doubted she’d have done anything too bad, “and how did you do that?”

“How does a Princess normally thank a Knight for Heroic deeds?”

This time it was Mulan who was trying to hold back laughter, ducking her head so they couldn’t see and hiding behind the baby.

It took a moment before her words hit them and Snow laughed.

“Wait, what? You kissed my daughter?” Charming asked, torn between amusement and annoyance.

“You say it like it’s some horrible thing. I hardly sullied her virtue.”

Snow choked, “Aurora!”

“What? It was adorable, she blushed and everything.” Aurora looked completely unashamed, bright smile in place, “Red was trying not to laugh when they left.”

“Must you torment my daughter?” Snow shook her head.

“How is a kiss torment?” Aurora tried to look innocent, “It was merely a moment of praise for defending her Mama.”

Charming looked at her pointedly, “You know she has a crush on you.”

“Why do you think I did it?” Aurora took her daughter back from her wife when the baby started fussing, settling the infant against her shoulder easily.

“She’s going to like you even more now.”

“I’m sure we can fend off the advances of an eleven year old,” Phillip said dryly.

“You’d be surprised…”

* * *

 

“You okay, Pup?” Red asked, trying hard not to laugh at Emma’s bright red face.

“I’m fine,” Emma squeaked, shaking her head to clear it and looking at Red again, “Completely.”

“Mhmm.” Aurora was going to be the death of her Pup and Red wasn’t sure if she should laugh or not. Poor kid had been staring into space for several minutes. “Help me get some more blankets.”


	49. Prompt 6: Crushes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL: AU

“Aurora is coming to visit?” Emma froze, fork paused halfway above her plate.

“Phillip and Mulan are as well and I believe they’re bringing the baby.” Snow agreed, trying not to smile at her daughter’s look.

“Given we couldn’t separate you from Emma for more than a few hours until she was nearly three years old I doubt Aurora would leave behind a few week old infant.” Charming teased, not trying to hide his smile at all.

“Emma needed me,” Snow protested, “I was not going to leave her anywhere.”

“His point stands, I’m sure they’ll bring the baby,” Red grinned as well.

“Yes, but Aurora is coming?” Emma repeated excitedly.

“Yes, baby, Aurora is coming.” Snow told her with amusement. Maybe they should have waited to tell her the day before, Emma looked like they’d just told her Christmas had come early.

“I have to… may I be excused?” Emma let her fork drop back to her plate, “Please?”

She’d be hungry within an hour given how little she’d eaten, Snow noted. “Are you finished?”

Emma glanced down at her barely touched plate then up again, “Yes.” She lied.

There was no use trying to get Emma to sit still now though, no matter what she said Emma was going to be a ball of energy. When she looked towards Red she was given a shrug and a grin in answer and Charming was currently trying to hide his laughter with his napkin.

“Yes, you may, but no leaving the castle!” Snow had to raise her voice, calling after Emma who was halfway across the room by the word ‘may’.

“She gets that from you,” Red told Charming, not bothering to try not to laugh.

“What?”

“Charging in headlong after a girl she’s only met once.”

“Hey, I was in love with Snow and you don’t get to complain about pursuing you.” Charming protested.

“I highly doubt Aurora is Emma’s true love,” Snow countered, “Aurora’s already found true love.”

“Can we be sure though?” Charming asked with a grin, “After all if it can exist between three–” he was cut off by a roll expertly chucked at his head from Red.

* * *

 

“Mom,” Emma touched Snow’s hand, trying to wake her gently and Snow closed her fingers around Emma’s, blinking up at her sleepily.

“What?”

“I need you to help me get ready.” Emma told her urgently.

Snow sat up on her arm and looked towards the windows where the sky was just starting to turn gray, “Emma, they won’t be here for hours.”

“I need time to prepare.” Emma nearly whined, “Please?”

“No being up before the sun is.” Red mumbled sleepily, “Go back to bed, Pup.”

“But I need to get dressed and ready!” Emma let out another whine of protest when Snow pulled her down into the bed next to her, holding her close and pulling the blankets over them, “Mom!”

“You have time to get ready, I promise.” Snow told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, “Get some sleep or you’ll be begging for a nap by time they get here.”

Emma sighed, “Fine. But I need your help getting ready.”

“That’s all you.” Red told Snow, snuggling into Charming who remained oblivious to the wake up call.

“Hush. I don’t take hours.”

“Ha!”

* * *

 

“But Mom’s the one with everything Princessy,” Emma protested when Red went to help her get ready.

“So? I can help.”

Emma looked doubtful, “You don’t dress up to go to balls and greetings though because you don’t like the dressy stuff.”

“It makes me feel closed in,” Red said defensively, “And hey, I may not dress like a Princess but I did manage to catch the eye of a Princess and isn’t that the intended outcome of this evening?” Red smiled when Emma flushed, cheeks turning pink, “Trust me?”

“Fine.” Emma nodded once, “Can we do braids?”

“Of course! It wouldn’t be real dressing up if we didn’t do at least one braid in your hair,” Red teased, “But first, bath.”

“What? Why? I’m clean!”

“You smell like grass where you’ve been outside.”

“No fair, you’re a wolf, you smell things more.” Emma whined.

“Still need a bath, Pup.”

“Ugh.”

* * *

 

“Did you put perfume on her?” Snow questioned when Emma darted past saying something about 'almost here!’

Red held up her hand, thumb and forefinger almost touching and grinned sheepishly.

“Really? Isn’t a 'little bit’ a little much on an eleven year old?” Snow frowned, following Emma down the hallway towards the courtyard.

Red shrugged, “First love! We’re pulling out all the stops.”

“Isn’t that just setting her up for a broken heart? Aurora is happily married after all and over twice her age.”

Charming laughed, “It’s first love, not true love. Don’t you remember the first person you ever had a crush on back when you were that young?”

“Mine was Peter’s father, to be completely honest,” Red said with a little grin, “But to be fair he was tall with dark hair and eyes and big muscles. Oh, and manly stubble. No offense.”

Charming rubbed his chin with his hand, “None taken. Mine was this young woman in town we sold wool to. She used to smile at me and wink and I thought we’d run off and marry. Sadly she married someone else. I was crushed for two weeks.”

“What brought you out of that dark deep depression?” Red teased.

Charming bit back a laugh, “My father traded a lamb for a puppy to help herd the rest of our flock. Cute little thing, my broken heart was completely forgotten.”

“How about you, Snow?” Red asked curiously, “Who was your first crush on?”

Snow’s cheeks turned pink at the question and she directed her eyes straight ahead, “Someone.”

“'Someone’?” Charming repeated.

“Yes, someone.”

“Hey, we told ours. Don’t we get to know?”

“No. Because if I tell it you’ll both laugh and if you both laugh I will get mad and that’ll end in someone sleeping on a couch somewhere and I don’t sleep well when we’re separated out AND we are not spending another visit of Aurora’s fighting.”

“Ooh, now I’m really curious.” Red caught Charming’s eye and grinned, “Tell me?”

“No.”

“Please?” Charming added a little whine like Emma did and even pouted.

“No.” Snow repeated, hurrying a little to avoid the conversation and catch up to Emma, cheeks still pink.

“We will find out eventually.” Red warned her, “I know your childhood caretakers!”

* * *

 

It was interesting, watching Emma, trying to figure out how she would react, Red thought.

Last time Aurora had visited they’d chatted, played games and despite the crush blooming had gotten along quite well.

It’d been several months though in which her crush had only grown.

The moment Aurora and her spouses had arrived Emma’s eyes were fixed on her, the child nearly bouncing in place from nerves. She looked torn between fainting and positively gleeful.

“I see the Puppy love is still there in force,” Mulan observed quietly with a hidden smile when greeting Red.

Red resisted an eyeroll, “First love. It’s hard to break.”

“Hmm,” Mulan glanced at Emma, “I still believe I could win that duel.”

“Believe what you will.” Red greeted Phillip as well, exchanging pleasantries but keeping an eye on Emma.

“Emma!” Aurora smiled brightly upon reaching Emma finally and took her hands in greeting, “It’s lovely to see you again. How have you been?”

Emma froze in place, cheeks turning pink and Red fought back a grin, refusing to let her Pup’s embarrassment be a source of amusement. “Very well,” Emma managed after several stuttering tries, “It’s lovely to see you.”

She nearly squeaked like a kitten and Red heard the soft laugh from Snow that was badly concealed.

“I hope we get to spend time together like our last visit. Games are so much more fun than meetings.”

She knew, Red realized as she watched Aurora talk, a soft smile in place, hands slow to let go of Emma’s. Aurora knew Emma had a crush and was enabling it.

That sneaky Princess…

Well, at least she wasn’t dashing her hopes cruelly. Though that didn’t seem like it would be in Aurora’s nature anyway.

“I hope so too.” Emma said quickly, cheeks turning darker. She peered at the infant in the sling Aurora wore curiously, “That’s–”

“My daughter. Would you like to meet her?”

Red steeled herself for a moment of heartache from Emma, a realization Aurora was taken but instead Emma smiled brightly, nearly bouncing in place again, “Can I?”

Strange Pup.

“Yes, I do believe I could win.” Mulan mused again, smiling this time, “She’s easily distracted.”

“To be fair our daughter is quite adorable,” Phillip grinned proudly.

“Not as adorable as mine.” Charming chimed with a proud smile towards his own child.

“Debatable.”

* * *

 

“Who are those from?” Snow questioned when Aurora joined them for the meeting finally, small bouquet of daisies in hand.

“Do you need to ask?” Aurora answered impishly as Red and Emma entered, Emma’s face bright pink once again.

Snow laughed, “Sorry, she’s–”

“Adorable and quite the charmer.” Aurora interjected, playing with the daisies lightly. She put on a mock pout and looked towards her spouses, “You don’t bring me flowers.”

Phillip didn’t respond, just pointed to the infant that slept in the sling Mulan currently wore with a smug look.

Mulan looked contemplative, as if she hadn’t thought of it before. “I slayed a witch turned dragon?”

“Yes, but that’s not quiet daisy bouquet level.” Aurora teased, smiling at Emma across the table.

Snow nearly groaned when Emma turned beet red, “Is it a good idea to encourage her?”

“Maybe not,” Aurora agreed, “But it can’t really hurt, can it? The worst that happens is eventually she realizes that despite my being her friend I’m very much taken and sadly cannot be her Princess which leads to temporary heart ache which is still better than me rejecting her or turning her down.”

“You’d rather her come to that conclusion on her own.” Snow thought about it and nodded, “I guess it’s nicer. It’s what–” Snow paused and looked towards Charming and Red who suddenly looked very interested and turned pink like her daughter had, “It’s a good method that hadn’t occurred to me.”

“Well, if we’re done discussing our daughter’s love for Aurora,” Charming said quietly making sure no one but the five of them and Red could hear, “Could we possibly get started so we don’t have to be in here all day?”

“Fine.” Aurora sniffed the daises happily and sat back, “I’m sure the meeting will be much less interesting though. She’s quite entertaining, even without the crush.”

“Just don’t torment her too much.”

“I would never do such a thing!”


	50. Kittens

“What the hell is that?!” Red demanded in shock, staring at the tiny grey kitten curled up on Emma’s shoulders.

“A pain in the ass,” Emma answered frankly, “Save me, please?”

Emma scowled when it leaned up, paws holding her still so it could groom her, “I’m already clean, thanks.”

Red actually growled at that, her eyes going gold.

The kitten ignored Emma, purring as it groomed her, nuzzling and grumbling when Emma moved.

“Hey, no plotting the murder of kittens in the station, Mama” Emma warned at the look Red had.

Red narrowed her still golden eyes at the kitten, “Says who?”

“Says the sheriff,” Emma nudged the kitten with her hand to make it stop though the kitten was undeterred by it. “Quit.”

“I’ll make it stop,” Red threatened, taking a step forward.

The threat only served to make the cat hiss, claws digging into Emma’s shoulder.

“Ouch, damn it!” Emma winced and flicked the cat with her fingers, “She’s not going to hurt you so stop being all pissy and Mama PLEASE stop threatening cat’s when they’ve got their claws on me!”

“It’s grooming you,” Red pointed out with a glower towards the grumbling cat who seemed calmer now that Emma had warned it though it still had it’s claws barely out, little pinpricks against her skin.

“I’ve noticed,” Emma made a face when it licked her again in defiance, tiny face hiding against her hair, “But it’s tiny and doesn’t know any better. It’s gross but still. I need to get a carrier or something and get it to the shelter so SOMEONE can adopt it and it leaves me alone. Dad went to locate something that wasn’t a cardboard box to put it in.”

“I’ll take it,” Red offered and Emma bit back a laugh when she heard the underlying grumble in her tone.

“Are you growling?” Emma asked, trying not to laugh, “It’s a kitten, Mama.”

“It’s evil and deadly,” Red retorted, not even looking sorry at the growling, “And it’s trying to claim you.”

“It licked me, how’s that claiming?”

“It’s making you smell like it does, that’s claiming!” Red looked both frustrated and furious.

“It’s a kitten,” Emma repeated, reaching up and lifting the kitten from her shoulder. The kitten squeaked it’s protest loudly at being moved but quieted when she sat it on her lap instead, nuzzling against her shirt and cuddling up close to her. “I doubt it thinks further ahead than ‘smells good, must taste’.”

“It knows damn well what it’s doing,” Red growled, glowering at it, “Little demon.”

“No, the cat in the tree is a demon, this one’s just a pest,” Emma shook her head, pulling her hand away when the kitten decided to chew and suck on her fingers, “Behave,” She scolded it lightly.

It nuzzled against her again in response, letting out a plaintive cry and licking at her wrist.

“Okay, that’s it,” Red stepped forward quick enough Emma didn’t notice until the kitten had hissed, claws digging into her legs in response to Red’s sudden threat.

“OW damn it!” Emma yelped, hooking her hand under the kitten’s chest and lifting it from her lap to remove it’s claws from her skin, “Mama! It’s a damn kitten! And I told you she’s not going to hurt you so stop.”

“Emma–”

“If you don’t like it go hang out with Mom or something for a while until I get it to the shelter,” Emma said irritably, brushing her thigh where the cat had gotten her with her fingers, scowling when they came back with red streaks.

“Emma, it’s–”

“A damn kitten and you’re a full grown adult, Please either be nice or go hang out somewhere else?”

“It’s grooming you!” Red protested again.

“It’s a kitten!” Emma rolled her eyes, “It does that crap from time to time, that doesn’t make it some evil demon. Just… please find something else to do or somewhere else to be until I get this damn thing to a new home?”

Red growled low, mouth set in a thin line, “Fine, Emma, if you want to be that way I’ll go somewhere else.”

Emma realized her mistake in phrasing at least when Red turned, leaving her office. “Shit. Mama! I didn’t mean it like that.” Emma called after her, standing from her seat but wincing in pain at the new scratches on her shoulder and legs, “Damn it!”

She glared at the kitten when she heard the door to the station slam shut, “This is all your fault.”

The kitten mewed and rubbed against her making little whining noises.

“Don’t act cute.” Emma muttered, stroking it’s face anyway.

* * *

 

“The hell is that?” Charming asked immediately when he set foot in Emma’s office, eyes on the tiny kitten snuggled on Emma’s shoulder, contentedly grooming Emma, or at least trying to; every so often it’d pull back and bat at it’s mouth where it had inadvertently got a mouthful of her hair instead of skin.

“Same kitten as before,” Emma said dully, trying to figure out how to phrase 'rescued a kitten’ in a report to Regina that didn’t make it sound stupid.

“Yeah, but it’s grooming you.” Charming pointed out, putting the tiny plastic carrier he’d borrowed down on the desk.

Emma rolled her eyes, “Not you too! It’s tiny, it’s a baby, it tends to lick things.”

“'Not you too’?” Charming frowned, “Who else said that?”

“Mama stopped by, growled, threatened it and stormed off when I told her to stop.”

“You told your Mama to go away after she got upset at a CAT grooming you?” Charming looked like he severely doubted her intelligence.

“She upset it and it scratched me… TWICE!” Emma said defensively.

“She was upset and upset it because it was grooming you and you told her to go away.” Charming repeated and shook his head, “Oh tonight ought to be fun.”

“It scratched me! Plus it’s just a baby, it doesn’t know what it’s doing. It just licks things.”

“No, it knows.” Charming lifted the kitten from Emma’s shoulder, holding it in front of him with one hand that made it seem positively miniature and staring into it’s eyes for a moment before he set it inside the carrier, “That’s how they leave scents on things. Cat’s lick and rub against you to make you smell like them. It marks you as their property. They do it from a really young age too.”

“How do you know that?”

“Last girls night Henry and I got stuck watching a documentary on Animal Planet.” Charming shrugged, shutting the carrier and pulling his hand away when the kitten batted at his fingers.

“So basically it was trying to say I was its 'property’ and when Mama got mad I yelled at her.” Emma sat back in her chair, “Shit.”

“Language.”

“So what do I do now?” Emma asked, absently petting the kitten’s paw as it whined and cried, trying to find a way out of it’s new cage.

“First off? Stop playing with the cat,” Charming scolded her, “Secondly? Shower. GOOD. Leave these clothes here or something and then go beg for forgiveness and never come play with this little guy again.”

“Oh ugh… I don’t want to wear my exercise stuff home or my uniform.” Emma whined.

“Sorry, that’s how it works.”

“Great, this is going to be fun,” Emma muttered mostly to herself.

“I’ll drop this guy off, you go apologize once you don’t reek of cat,” Charming told her, “Demonic little fuzzballs.”

“That one’s cute, not demonic.” Emma called after him when he left her office.

That one actually had been cute, just a tiny little ball of fluff that was warm and purred and cuddled up to her. Normally she wasn’t a cat fan at all.

Right okay, no cat next step was showering.

She didn’t like the station showers much. Sure they got plenty hot but it was the weird little stalls that bugged her. She liked the ability to at least put some space between herself and anyone else when she was showering and the giant gaps between the floor and the bottom of the shower irritated her. Normally if she took one there it was late at night or Charming was standing guard outside the door, so to speak.

She did as ordered by Charming, giving in and even using his body wash stuck away in the shower lockers, making sure to scrub herself good and wash her hair where the kitten had been snuggled up to try and rid the scent from herself.

One rescue of one little kitten and now she had to go grovel in apology and hope Red wasn’t too mad at her for letting a kitten love on her.

A KITTEN.

Seriously?

One kitten.

Emma dried off with one of the stations towels and with a noise of annoyance changed into her workout clothes - a pair of loose cotton pants and a tanktop.

Now, where the hell would Red be hiding out while sulking.

She closed her eyes and concentrated hard with her magic on the bond she had that connected her to her parents.

She gave a light tug trying to remember which of the two weaker ones was Red and after a moment figured it out. It was harder to sort out the two that weren’t Snow’s - Snow shone like well a beacon in black surroundings.

Two led to the same place though it felt like.

Red was with Snow.

Great, two parents mad at her.

She didn’t take her car, or even the station’s car, instead she left on foot following the pull of the bond as she tugged on it lightly, making sure she kept in the right direction.

She was relatively sure that Snow at least knew she was looking if not tracking them.

They didn’t feel too far away and it was fast enough so she just ran like she did in the mornings with Red sometimes. An exercise in futility for Red who found it entertaining how much she had to slow down to let Emma keep up with her.

The hell…. were they at the apartment?

Emma frowned and followed the tug to the apartment doors. Red’s car was parked out front with Snow’s, of course she was here.

Emma took the stairs slowly, both wanting to apologize and trying to delay the inevitable.

She felt a tug back from Snow as she stood still at the top of the stairs, trying to work up the nerve to go inside, figure out how to apologize for letting a freaking PET love on her.

The tug was enough to let her know that yes, they knew she was there and no she wasn’t allowed to just hang around outside waiting until she figured it out.

She had to go inside now. She turned the doorknob slowly and pushed it open, stepping inside nervously.

Snow and Red were both on the couch, snuggled up together in the quiet. Snow laying with her head on Red’s chest, Red playing with her hair like she did Emma’s.

Emma kicked her shoes off near the door, nudging them to the side of it with her foot.

“Hi.” She said quietly.

Red didn’t respond but Snow smiled at her, “Hey.”

“I um, showered at the station,” She said needlessly, hanging her keys up by the door as well. “Charming’s taken the um little thing to the shelter so…”

“Mmm, I heard.” Snow didn’t move from her spot laying against Red but did make a face, “I’m told you were kidnapped by an evil demon.”

“It was a tiny kitten,” Emma protested.

“Hmph.” Red glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes and went back to paying attention to Snow.

“Tiny kittens still smell powerful,” Snow pointed out. She looked almost amused by all of this. “And you let it love on you.”

“It was a baby and I showered.” Emma complained.

“You told me to go away and stop,” Red said grumpily, “So why track me down when you sent me away?”

“Because I didn’t mean to. I just… You kept making it upset and everything it got upset it dug it’s claws into me,” Emma let out a whine without meaning to, “And that freaking HURTS.”

“You got hurt?” Red demanded immediately.

“Just some scratches.” Scratches that hurt like hell like all cat scratches did but they were tolerable. “Damn thing’s got sharp claws.”

“Let me see.” Red said, sitting upright with Snow and Emma could see Snow trying not to laugh.

“It’s just some scratches.”

“Let me see.” Red repeated firmly.

“It’s just –”

“Emma….”

Emma groaned, “That means pulling my pants up or down..” She whined, “C'mon.”

“One, Two–”

“Not the counting!” Emma winced, “Fine, fine, you win.” She rolled up the leg of her pants until her thigh was exposed as were the two sets of tiny scratched caused by one upset kitten. They were red but not horribly deep or long, just painful. “They’re on my shoulder too.”

“Damn cats,” Red muttered, pulling away from Snow to examine Emma’s injuries. “They’re evil.”

“It was scared,” Emma protested, “You went all growly on a baby.”

“Demon,” Snow corrected with amusement.

“Snow, can you grab the first aid kit?” Red requested, touching the skin near the scratches and making Emma hiss.

“Hey, sore!” She protested, “And I don’t need first aid, it’s just some scratches.”

“From a cat.” Red pointed out.

“So?”

“So cat scratches get bad infections quickly if you’re not careful,” Red told her still looking grumpy.

“Seriously? It’s just a few scratches.”

“Infections spread fast. Cat’s are kind of gross, especially their claws,” Snow informed her, handing red the small home kit.

“Did you watch animal planet too?” Emma asked dryly.

“No, I just read a lot.”

Emma rolled her eyes and stood still, letting Red clean her leg - though the antiseptic hurt like hell - and dab antibiotics on it before bandaging it neatly. She even didn’t protest at her shoulder getting the same treatment.

She did whine afterwards however when Red ordered her to go change clothes.

“C'mon, I already showered and changed!” Emma whined.

“Go.” Red ordered, pointing towards the stairs.

“But–”

“I’d listen,” Snow told her, “Otherwise you get whining.”

Emma groaned, “C'mon, I changed–”

“Emma…”

“Fine, fine, I’m going.” Emma rolled her eyes, letting her pant leg back down and heading towards the stairs, “But I’m doing it under duress!”

“Noted.”

She changed into newly clean clothes she’d stuffed in her dresser the day before and tossed her gym clothes into the hamper. To be fair her leg and shoulder hurt less now but it was still annoying having to be fixed up.

Especially when it was Red’s fault she had to be fixed up.

It was a damn kitten.

It was changing her smell and being possessive apparently, but it was a kitten.

It had obviously bugged Red and Emma had been insensitive to make her leave.

With a sigh she headed downstairs once she had changed, “Happy now?”

“Better.” Red still didn’t look too pleased with her though.

“I’m sorry I cuddled an abandoned kitten,” Emma said, trying her damnedest to sound sincere.

“Hmph.”

“I really am.” Emma tried again, “Seriously regretting it.”

“You kicked me out.” Red said sulkily, eyeing Emma with annoyance as Emma sat down on Snow’s other side on the couch.

“It clawed me because you growled. Anyone would have sent you out. Couldn’t exactly send it out anywhere.” Emma whined, “I’m sorry!”

“Hmph.”

“Really am. Dad took it to the shelter and everything. I took a shower at the STATION for you!”

Snow snorted trying not to laugh, “Seriously?”

“Yes.” Emma whined, “All I did was my job.”

“We are making Regina start an 'animal control officer’ job,” Red stated, eyes narrowed at Emma, “You are not dealing with things that groom you.”

“I’m pretty sure any 'animal control officer’ would try to kidnap you.” Emma offered and watched as Snow hid a laugh with a cough.

“Uh huh…”

“No.” Emma shook her head, scooting backwards at Red’s look, “C'mon, I showered, I changed my clothes twice!” The look didn’t change, though her eyes did flash gold, “Mama, I don’t– ack!”

She tried to maintain dignity, tried not to look like an idiot or acknowledge the indignant squawk that came with being tackled by a large wolf but it was futile

Especially when Snow was giggling.

“I took a shower!” She protested loudly even as she was licked across the side of her head, paws pinning her neatly.

“Sorry, Simba, but I don’t think that excuse works,” Snow teased, standing from the couch but pausing long enough to scratch the wolf’s ears, “You snuggled the enemy.”

“Save me!” Emma whined.

* * *

 

“I guess they’re back to normal?” Charming questioned with a barely suppressed grin when he entered the apartment, finding Emma grumpily parked in front of the couch with a large wolf wrapped around her still diligently cleaning her.

Emma just raised her hand in a rude gesture.

Snow kissed him in greeting and studied him curiously, “Mhmm. You wash and change from handling a cat?”

“I touched it with one hand only and I’ve scrubbed my hands several times,” Charming grinned, “And I’m sure Emma will be happy to know – and Red possibly murderous – that the kitten already has a new home.”

“That was fast.” Emma absently nudged Red away, making a face and swiping at her ears with her hand, “I’m clean already!”

“Ella and Thomas thought a kitten would be a lovely addition to their household. I think they’re calling it 'Lucy’. Alexandra loves it.”

Red growled at that, turning to look at Charming, eyes narrowed and ears laying flat.

Charming held his hands up in front of him, “Don’t blame me, blame them. You can go tackle groom your Goddaughter too but this one isn’t my fault.”

“Yes, go. Go groom her, not me.” Emma nodded, liking that idea.

Red grumbled and returned to her previous duties making Emma whine.

“I barely held the damn thing!”


	51. Family days: at the lake

“Come on, time to get up,” Charming said quietly, shaking Henry’s shoulder lightly.

“Mmm?” Henry let out a whine, opening his eyes and looking up at Charming in the darkness, “Time’s it?”

“Six,” Charming grinned at the groan, “Come on, it’s only thirty minutes earlier than normal. Get up so we can go!”

Those words seemed to be magic and Henry’s eyes snapped open again, “We can go.” he repeated with a grin, throwing his blankets back and sitting up, nearly falling over in his haste. “YES!”

“Hey, calm down! You wake your Grandmas and they might murder us,” Charming warned him when he sped past, heading towards the little bathroom he shared with Emma, pile of clothes under his arm.

He’d promised weeks ago that the first warm day they were supposed to have they’d head out to the lake to hang out for the day fishing. Something that had gone from ‘boys time’ to 'bonding time’ when Henry had practically pleaded with Emma to come with them – not that Charming had objected at all – and from there it’d morphed till it had become a 'family day’ at the lake.

Though neither of his wives had agreed to actually fishing and refused to leave the house before 'decent hours’.

_'We’ll meet you once the world is awake and it’s not cold, thanks.’_

“Emma,” he crossed the room back towards where Emma’s bed was closer to the door and pressed against the wall, “Wake-y, wake-y.”

“’m up,” Emma mumbled sleepily into her pillow.

“I’ve got coffee on,” He touched the back of her neck with one cold hand just to make her yelp, twisting in the covers to get away.

“Why do we have to get up this early?” She complained, rubbing her now cold skin.

“That’s how fishing works.” Charming responded cheerfully. “Get something warm on over your other stuff.”

“Yes, Dad,” Emma muttered sarcastically, laying back down.

“I **will** let Henry wake you up,” Charming flipped the light on as he headed back downstairs making her whine loudly in protest.

* * *

 

“Why early morning?” Emma asked sleepily, head resting against the window of the truck as Henry nearly bounced in the middle of the seat between herself and Charming.

“It’s the best time for fishing.” Charming informed her, keeping his eyes on the dimly lit dirt road that led to the small lake that resided just inside town lines.

“I thought that was twilight with beer?”

“Why would you fish with beer?” Henry frowned.

“Ignore your mother, she’s just sulking 'cause she’s sleepy.” Charming rolled his eyes and nudged Henry lightly, “Plus I bet she’s not that great at fishing.”

“Hey, take that back!” Emma protested, giving him a mock glare.

“Prove you’re good and I will.” Charming agreed amiably, “Until then…”

“You suck.”

“So I’ve been told.”

* * *

 

The little row boat was completely unnecessary when there was a dock nearby and perfectly suited for fishing off of. But of course he couldn’t resist getting everything needed to make sure it was the best fishing trip ever. Well, it was the only one Henry had ever been on so the bar was set rather low but still a Grandpa had to make things memorable.

“You’re kidding,” Henry let out a little whine and looked just like Emma when Charming handed him the life jacket to put on, “I can swim!”

“Uh huh.”

“I can.”

“Yeah. On or no boat.” Charming gave him his best stern Dad look and after a minute Henry relented, pulling the bright yellow life jacket on over his sweater.

“I look stupid.” Henry muttered, fastening it.

“You look fine,” Emma grabbed his hood and pulled it up over his head with a grin, “Like a poofy duck.”

“Keep laughing and I’ll make you wear one,” Charming threatened with a smirk.

“Hey, I can swim!” Emma protested quickly, “Mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“I know how not to drown. I’m not winning any competitions though.”

“Maybe I should grab yours real quick…”

“Dad!”  
“C'mon, Gramps!”

Charming had to laugh at the dual protests, “Fine, fine.”

* * *

 

“Like this, buddy,” Charming covered Henry’s hands with his own over the smaller fishing pole he’d purchased just for him to learn with, “Pull back and press down then flick.” Charming followed through with the actions, sinking the line with a plunk a good twenty feet from them leaving only a ripple on the water and a little red and white bobber bobbing gently to prove the water had been disturbed.

“Cool!” Henry grinned, both hands wrapped around the pole below the reel, “How’d you learn that?”

'Lot’s of practice,” Charming shrugged, “Though my fishing poles were a lot simpler than these…” he turned to Emma and smiled, “Need help?”

Emma made a face and examined the reel and the button to release the line, “I’m almost certain if I actually try to cast this thing the only thing I’ll hook is one of us.” She told him honestly.

“I’ll show you,” Charming shifted in his seat, rocking the boat a little and covered Emma’s hands like he had Henry’s, guiding her so she could figure out the movements, “Pull back, press the button down and flick,” He accompanied his words with the movements but didn’t actually press down, “See?”  
Emma made a face, “If I hook one of us you only have yourself to blame.”

Charming laughed, “I’ll take that risk.”

Emma shot him a look that clearly showed her doubt for his sanity but repeated the motions he’d shown her. It didn’t go near as far as Henry’s had with his help but she managed not to hook any of them.

“See? You’re good,” He grinned and settled back.

“Luck.” she replied but she did look a little proud of herself.

“Skill.”

–

Henry was the first person to get a bite amusingly enough and his eyes went wide upon realization that the tugging on the pole was a fish nibbling after bait. “Gramps, what do I do?” He yelped.

Charming laughed, “Jerk!”

“What?”

“It’s biting, make it stay, jerk the pole up like you’re trying to get it loose of something.” Once Henry had done as directed Charming grinned and gestured to his hands, “Now reel!”

“Fast?” Henry asked looking as excited as if it were Christmas as he reeled fast as he could manage when it was a new thing.

“Yup!”

“What do I do?” Henry sounded so surprised that even Emma laughed as the bobber came above water and they could see something beneath the surface.

“Keep going,” Charming handed his pole to Emma to hold and reached out, taking the line in his hand as it got closer to the end. The moment it was close enough to touch Charming grabbed the fish with his hand, pulling it into the boat.

It was pale and slimy looking with a sickly white belly but the rest of it was covered in green and pink scales it looked like. It wasn’t huge, Charming’s hand could close around it, and it wasn’t long but Henry was beaming like he’d caught a shark.

“How can you grab that without gloves on?” Emma made a face, scooting backwards when Charming gently removed the hook and examined the fish.

“Practice.” He held it out to Henry who took it gingerly, nearly dropping it, “First fish of the day! Not bad, kid.”

Henry beamed, “We get to keep it, right?”

“Right size,” Charming nodded, digging into the tackle box and producing a stringer to hook onto the side of the boat, “Congratulations, first fish of the day and you get to keep it.”

Emma stared at it and made a face, “I’m not helping clean that.”

“Squeamish?” Charming questioned, carefully slipping the fish onto it and snapping the metal into place, letting the stringer and fish over the edge of the boat held in place.

“Watching Mom and Mulan skin things in the Enchanted forest was enough for me. I’m not touching fish.” Emma said seriously, carefully handing him his fishing pole back.

* * *

 

As the sun came up and the heat rose the over clothes started coming off. Over-shirts and jackets chucked on the bottom of the boat with hats, kicked out of the way in favor of tank tops, though Charming made Henry leave his life jacket on over his tshirt.

It wasn’t long after the sun was up and properly in the sky that Snow and Red appeared, both dressed in shorts and tshirts like them, Red carting a rather large cooler and Snow carrying a big tote bag that looked packed.

“Are you packing to camp?” Charming yelled across the lake with a laugh.

She couldn’t quite see but she could guess at the gesture Red sent them in return.

“Very nice! Very lady like.”

Red made a face at him, setting the cooler down and eying them, “Do they have sunscreen on?”

Charming froze, “Um, Emma? Did you do the sunscreen?”

“Didn’t even bring any.” She answered. “Why?”

“I think you’re both about to be tackled by Mama Wolf…”

“I think we’re safe out here in the middle of the lake,” Emma remarked dryly, returning the wave Snow gave.

Charming laughed, “She can swim, you know.”

“I’m betting I could outlast her.” Emma toyed with the reel of her pole, watching her mothers set up on the sand.

“You’d be surprised.”

* * *

 

“One fairest bitching about sunburn is bad enough,” Red yelled out to them, standing on the edge of the floating plastic dock, “You two need sunscreen.”

Charming checked his watch and grinned, “Twenty minutes.”

Emma scowled and peered at her arms. Okay, maybe she was getting a bit pink, “Fine.”

“Have any issue fishing off the dock for now?” Charming checked with Henry.

The boy frowned in consideration, “Do I have to look like a neon marshmallow if I’m on the dock?”

“No, I won’t make you wear it on the dock.” Charming agreed.

“I’m FINE with the dock,” Henry said quickly, shrugging and making the life jacket shift.

“Uh huh,” Emma reeled her line in slowly and handed the pole to Charming, shifting to her feet and kicking her sneakers off to the bottom of the boat.

“What are you doing?” Charming sat her pole aside.

Emma undid her jeans, shimmying out of them in favor of the swim trunks she wore underneath. “Taking the fast and amusing way and irritating Mama.” Emma answered sweetly, tossing her jeans back with her shoes and standing up carefully, gazing into the water.

It was clean enough though she couldn’t see far into it, the worst that would happen is she’d scare some fish.

Or drown.

That one was possible too.

“Emma Ru–”

Red’s voice was blocked off as she dove into the water, fighting back the gasp at the cold of it as she completely submerged. She couldn’t open her eyes underwater so she kept them closed, trying to remember her swimming techniques.

When she finally surfaced she was about twenty feet from the boat.

“Cold?” Charming yelled to her as she flipped onto her back, lazily floating.

“Freezing,” She agreed, letting the waves move her and staying still.

“Get over here,” Red tried to sound stern but Emma could hear the laugh, “Menace.”

Emma sighed and flipped back to her stomach, making her way to the shore.

She regretted the lack of shoes once her feet hit the slimy cold mud of the shallow end, “Oh, gross.”

“Wear sandals,” Snow told her, “they avoid the 'ew’ factor.”

Like Emma, Red had gone with a pair of swim trunks only hers seemed to be over top of a normal swimsuit.

Snow had on what looked like a pair of cloth shorts and a modest bikini top and already she was lounging out across a beach blanket basking in the sun.

“Lizard.”

“You have no room to talk,” Snow replied, sunglasses keeping Emma from seeing if she even bothered to look at her.

“I’m wearing more.”

“Uh huh.”

“She’ll burn less,” Red told her, grabbing the bottle of sunscreen she’d set down.

“That’s up for debate.” Emma poked her skin that was already turning pink and looked at Snow’s still pale skin.

“I guarantee by tonight one of you three is going to be bitching about sunburn,” Red sighed, “C'mere, Pup.”

* * *

 

“I’ve got fish,” Henry informed Red happily, not bothering to squirm away from the sunscreen like Emma had, “I caught the first one today!”

“That’s so cool,” Red grinned, “Big one?”

“Really big!” Henry nearly bounced in place, “I can show you, Gramps put it on the hook thingy that’s on the boat.”

“Stringer,” Snow supplied. “Red’s a pretty good fisherman herself.”

“You fish?” Emma looked surprised.

“I’m a better hunter for obvious reasons, but on occasion I’ve been known to fish. I taught Snow how.” Red gestured for Henry to close his eyes so she could get his face.

“You’re not telling that story.” Snow said warningly.

Emma grinned, “There’s a story about it?”

Red actually giggled at that, “It’s almost as good a story as teaching her how to use a bow and arrow.”

“Tell them either and I’ll tell them about the cats.” Snow threatened.

Red made a face like she’d bitten a lemon, “Fine, fine.”

“Cats?” Emma laughed, “Like little fluffy house cats?”

“More like big angry mountain lions,” Red muttered sulkily, “That cheated. Okay, Cub, you’re good to go.”

Henry looked like he wanted to protest the nickname for a moment but grinned instead, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Get your sandals on. They’re in the bag. Emma, you’ve got flip flops too.”

“Yay me.”

Henry sat down on the towel next to Snow, digging into the bag for sandals, “Those things fall off easy.”

“They also float in water and make good projectiles.”

“Cool!”

“No throwing shoes at anyone,” Red warned.

“What’s this from?” Henry asked curiously once he had his sandals on, reaching out and touching a half moon shaped scar on Snow’s back faded white with age.

Snow didn’t open her eyes or look back to attempt to see, “Fought a troll. I won.”

Henry grinned, “THAT’S AWESOME!”

“Mhmm.”

“C'mon, Gran, I wanna show you,” Henry stood up, kicking up sand on accident and snagged Red’s hand, dragging her off towards the dock where Charming had tied the boat up

“You did not fight a troll,” Emma said once Henry was out of hearing range.

“I fought three at once and won.” Snow told her sleepily with a smile, “But nope, that’s not how I got that particular scar.”

“Liar.” Emma laughed, studying the mark.

* * *

 

“Can she swim?” Emma yelled to Snow, peering off the end of the dock looking for Red.

She’d gone wolf a while ago, playing and snoozing in the sun before taking a running leap off the dock and disappearing beneath the surface.

By Emma’s count she’d been under over a minute.

“Red? Yes. The Wolf? Probably,” Snow called back.

“She can,” Charming assured her, sitting on the edge of the dock with Henry, both had their feet dangling in the water, poles in hand looking almost identical bar size. “She’ll surface when she needs air, trust me.”

Emma fidgeted nervously anyway, peering off the edge of the docks searching for any sign of Red.

It was almost a full minute later she saw the surface ripple and one furry muzzle peek through followed by a soaked looking wolf paddling towards the shore.

“Oh thank god.”

She hurried off the dock, flip flops clicking as she moved, hoping to meet Red by the sand.

“What is wrong with you? If I stayed under that long you’d yell at me!”

Red didn’t answer her, or turn human again, didn’t even shake off excess water, instead the wolf padded towards where Snow lay, ears low and tail wagging slightly in a way Emma knew meant something was up.

Snow opened her eyes, sitting up on her elbows and peering at Red over the top of her sunglasses, “If you have water in your mouth and you open it anywhere near me I’m going to make you regret it.”

The tail just wagged harder, paws flexing in the sand.

“Red…”

The wolf opened her mouth wide, dropping not just a mouthful of cold lake water but a rather large fish directly onto Snow’s lap.

“RUBY LUCAS!” Snow stood, brushing at her lap to get rid of the struggling fish.

Red took off in a flash, paws kicking up sand, Snow at her heels.

“Ew,” Emma nudged the fish with her shoe, making a face, “Hey, Kid, come grab this.”

“You do it!” Charming told her, laughing from the dock, “just grab it.”

“Hell no!”

“It’s just a fish.”

Emma nudged it with her shoe again, jumping backwards when it flopped and nearly bounced onto her, “Doesn’t mean I’m touching it!”

“Scaredy cat.”

There was a yelp and a loud splash from the other end of the lake and when she looked up she saw Snow flailing in the water, a now human Red laughing a few feet away, sitting on her butt in the shallow section.

“Nice one, frosty.”

“I’ll show you 'nice’.”

It was like watching children playing, Emma decided, not even attempting to fight the giggles. The duo seemed intent on trying to dunk each other which made it obvious Red wasn’t playing around with her full strength when Snow nearly won a few times.

“Grab the fish, bring it here,” Charming shouted, “Red’ll whine if we don’t keep her 'prize’.”

“I’m NOT touching the fish!”

* * *

 

“I have to pee,” Henry told Charming seriously halfway though the lunch break they’d forced him to take, peanut butter still on his face.

“Pick a tree.” Charming gestured with his bottle of tea to the surrounding woods.

“What does a tree have to do with that?” Henry frowned, wiping at his mouth with the napkin Red handed him.

Charming laughed, “Go find one to hide behind and pee on.”

“What? Why?” Henry looked horrified, “HOW?”

“The same way you go in a urinal.” at Henry blank look Charming laughed incredulously, “What is Regina teaching you?”

“She’s a girl.” Emma said, trying to hold in her laughter, “Girls don’t pee on trees.”

Snow looked like she wanted to say something but as she opened her mouth to speak Red shoved a pretzel in it. Snow just rolled her eyes, crunching it with her teeth anyway.

“This is an outrage,"Charming decided, "Come on, Henry, time we had a 'manly man’ talk.”

“Does the 'manly man’ talk involve washing your hands?” Red questioned curiously, “Or just peeing on things and belching loudly.”

“Washing your hands might make the list. Scratching yourself definitely does,” Snow answered, mouth full, “Belching’s possible.”

Charming stuck his tongue out at them, standing and leading Henry away, the two conversing quietly as they headed off into the trees.

“I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing he’s got a minion to influence,” Emma considered, sipping her own tea.

“Good more than bad,” Red smiled, “Any bad habits can be easily unlearned.”

“So says you,” Snow scoffed, “Seven years and he still can’t get his pants in the hamper.”

“He can,” Red informed Snow seriously, lips twitching in a concealed smile, “He just likes watching you bend over to pick them up.”

“Seriously?” Snow stared at Red.

“Yup,” Red agreed, crunching pretzels happily.

“Why did you not mention this?”

“I like the view too?”

“C'mon,” Emma covered her eyes with her hand, torn between laughter and disgust at trio, “Not while we’re eating.”

* * *

 

“It’s not fair,” Henry half whined, looking at the stringer full of fish Charming held up. They had quite a few, more than enough for a 'proper fish fry’ as Snow had said, but the biggest one on the stringer was caught by 'cheating’.

“What was that?” Red asked with a smirk.

“You can’t catch a fish with your teeth, it doesn’t count as fishing.”

“Says who?” Red ruffled his hair with her fingers, “And I didn’t use my teeth, there’s not a single mark on it.”

“Special skills don’t count as cheating,” Snow informed him, “Just an added edge.”

“It’s cheating,” Henry disagreed.

“You only say that because you’d have the biggest fish if it wasn’t for Red’s,” Charming grinned, “Wanna help me get these cleaned so we can head home, fisherman?”

Henry made a face, “Like scrub them?”

“Not quite. More, get them fit for cooking.”

Henry looked a little green, “No… I mean I CAN but I–”

“You don’t have to. How about you, Emma?” Charming moved the stringer towards her, laughing when she jumped backwards, “I’ve had more than enough of that crap when we were in the Enchanted Forest.”

His gaze turned to Snow who crossed her arms and stared right back at him. After a moment his face shifted into what looked like a puppy dog pout and Snow rolled her eyes, “Fine, I’ll help you but only because you suck at doing it on your own.”

“I do not!” Charming protested, grabbing the small plastic box he’d packed away, “I’m perfectly capable—” he trailed off when Snow raised an eyebrow watching him, “I mean yes, I suck and I need all the help I can get.”

“Uh huh.”

“You two get to help me then,” Red said cheerfully, nudging Emma, “We’ve got stuff to pack up.”

Emma rubbed her arms that were still looking pink, even as the sun started to set, “Gee, sounds fun.”

“Uh huh, move it. You too, Henry.”

“So where do we go now?” Henry asked Red curiously, obediently trudging back to their picnic setup.

“Now? Now we call Granny and play invaders.”

Emma picked up one of the towels, folding it quickly, “Where are we invading?”

“Regina’s, duh,” Red tossed one of the empty bottles to Henry who caught it awkwardly, “She’s got the awesome kitchen.”

“Does Regina KNOW we’re invading?” Emma questioned.

“Snow called her this morning. Snow promised fish, Regina said she’d work on sides. She didn’t feel like indulging us in a lake day.”

Emma snorted, “You know, I can’t see Regina lounging around in swimwear fishing.”

Red snickered, “No, I can’t see it really either. But we have been promised food if we bring food and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of snarky comments awaiting us for being primitive enough we had to fish for ourselves.”

Henry looked contemplative, “Mom does swim stuff.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. She taught me how to swim,” Henry stuffed things in the bag without folding or looking and frowned when Emma pulled them out, refolding them for him. “We go in the summers.”

“Remind me to get a photo of that,” Emma told Red, “The Evil Queen on a beach holiday.”

“We could make millions in calendars,” Red deadpanned.

* * *

 

“You smell like wet dog,” Regina said in greeting, wrinkling her nose.

“That’s Gran,” Henry said cheerful, dodging the halfhearted smack aimed at the back of his head.

“I see. Why don’t you go upstairs, shower and change while we work on dinner?” Regina suggested.

“Do we get to steal the shower too?” Charming held up the fish for Regina to see and grinned.

“There’s a hose in the backyard.” Regina replied evenly but Emma could see the lip twitch.

“I feel so loved, how about you?” Red shut the door behind them once they’d all entered, leaving their shoes by the door in a small pile.

“Always,” Snow replied.

“What are you wearing and where is your shirt?” Regina demanded, letting them through into the kitchen.

“In the bag covered in mud and water,” Snow answered, “It’s a bikini top. I’m sure you’ve seen them.”

“Yes. I have. Now go put a shirt on.” Regina ordered, looking so much like a mom that Emma had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

“Why?” Snow whined playfully.

“It’s indecent, get a shirt.”

“I didn’t bring any extras,” Snow greeted Granny with a hug when she saw her in the kitchen and got an appraising look in return.

“Well, at least it’s not one of Ruby’s. I’m sure hers broke city ordinances.”

“Love you too, Granny.”

“There are shirts upstairs, go get one.” Regina ordered.

“Dictator.”

“Snow…”

“Fine, fine,” Snow rolled her eyes, “Charming’s plotting to cook so you don’t have to do anything.”

“My fish. Only Granny’s allowed to help,” Charming agreed, “The rest of you hands off.”

“So what do we do in the meantime?” Red questioned, leaning against the island counter.

“Play cards, commune with nature, Mario kart, just no helping.”

“'Helping’?” Granny scoffed, “Red would burn it.”

“Hey!”

* * *

 

When Snow returned a few minutes later in what was obviously one of Regina’s t-shirts Regina scowled.

“What?” Snow sat down at the table, “Henry’s are too tight. You said put on a shirt.”

“So I did,” Regina tapped her fingers on the table surface, “You still smell like wet dog.”

“You smell like apples,” Snow returned, the words said with the same tone of disgust.

“Yeah yeah, we’ll all shower later,” Emma waved it off, laying out on the cold tile floor, skin a little too warm.

“You sunburned?” Red questioned, poking her side with her toes.

“Maybe a little.” Emma admitted, “Whoops?”

“How is it I sunbathe all day and don’t turn pink while you hang out in the shade or water and turn colors?” Snow asked but not without sympathy.

“I was out in it unshielded before you?”

“We’ve got aloe at home,” Red clicked her tongue, “I made sure to grab some.”

“Thank god. Shower, aloe and then I am sleeping for the next two days,” Emma mumbled against the tile feeling exhausted all of the sudden.

“Food first,” Charming called back to her, “We did not spend all day fishing to pass out without eating.”

“C'mon, off the floor,” Snow reached down, rubbing Emma’s back lightly with her fingers, “You’ll get dirty.”

Regina made an offended noise, “Excuse me? It’s more likely she’ll get my floor dirty than the other way around.”

“See? I’m fine.” Emma sat up anyway, leaning against Snow’s legs with a yawn. “Why does he know how to cook fish anyway?”

“Enchanted forest,” Snow brushed Emma’s hair with her fingers, nails scratching her scalp lightly, “He can cook almost anything meat wise, he just likes playing lazy.”

“Lies.”

* * *

 

“Emma, time to go home,” Red rubbed Emma’s arm lightly, trying to wake her sleeping Pup.

“Time'sit?” Emma mumbled sleepily, rubbing at her eyes and blinking back sleep.

“Just after nine. Come on, get up so we don’t have to leave you on Regina’s couch overnight,” Red teased.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Emma yawned, sitting forwards and forcing her eyes to stay open.

“I might if Regina didn’t look like she’d murder me for it,” Red lied with a smile.

“We should do family days more often,” Snow told Charming as he hefted his sleeping Grandson into his arms, “It tires them out.”

“Tires ME out,” Charming said, holding Henry carefully to avoid waking him though that seemed unlikely, “Where’s he off to, car or bed?”

“Bed,” Snow answered, “If Regina doesn’t mind.”

“Why would I mind?” Regina gestured to the stairs, “You know his room.”

“Next time take them camping,” Granny said with amusement as Red fought to keep Emma from falling back asleep, “Sleeping bags, hiking and s'mores.”

“They’d crash out and set something on fire, I guarantee it.” Snow paused, “Maybe next weekend.”


	52. Of wolves and mermaids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL, Pre relationship, Storybrooke.

“Don’t fall,” Snow warned Red, watching her friend climbing across the rock formations that in places were barely kept out of the ocean water. Red was doing a lot better than Snow had been, somehow managing to scale over wet rocks and jagged edges in her skirt without slipping.

“I’m being careful,” Red replied, touching the rocks with her fingertips only as she climbed higher, further out where the waves lapped hard at the rocks. Red had spotted a mermaid on the rocks when they approached the ocean and was now intent on seeing one up close after it had dove back into the water.

“Careful?” Snow nearly slipped again on the rocks, barely catching herself. “Yes, let’s leave the one without any enhanced abilities to climb over wet rocks while carrying things,” She muttered to herself, careful not to drop anything. Fishing, what a fun, lovely idea. Well, at least it trumped stalking through the forest searching for rabbits again.

Besides, it was a change in taste and fish were probably easier to catch and less damage on her arrows.

She looked up to find Red inches from her and yelped in surprise, nearly falling if Red hadn’t caught her. “Red!”

“Just say ‘please’.” Red grinned, taking the basket from Snow’s grasp, using her hand to help keep Snow stable and from slipping.

“Please.” Snow repeated sarcastically.

“I guess that counts.” Red teased, helping Snow over the rocks at a faster pace than she had been going and with fewer slips.  
  
  
\---  
  


"Do you think they’re more like humans or fish?”

“What?” Snow glanced over, finding Red laying flat on her stomach half hanging over the edge peering into the ocean, hair falling around her face. “Don’t get too close! If you fall in after them I am not a strong enough swimmer to get you out of there.”

“I won’t fall.” Red brushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear in a futile gesture as it fell again almost instantly. “Do you think they’re more like fish or humans?”

“I’m not sure.” Snow answered honestly. “I’ve never thought about it.”

“I mean, they live in the water, and they’re part fish, but they’re also part human and breathe like we do.” Red leaned further over, hoping for a glimpse of color and scales. “I wonder if they smell like fish… do they eat fish or do they catch things near the water too?”

Snow laughed at Red’s curiosity. “Tell you what, if I ever meet a mermaid I’ll ask her for you.”

Red grinned at Snow. “Thank you.”  
  


* * *

 

“Is she thinking 'play’ or 'dinner’?” Hook asked with amusement, watching the large wolf leaning against the railing.

Red was leaning against it, front paws pressed to keep her balanced, head hanging over to stare at the mermaids that occasionally swam around the boat. Her tail was wagging slightly, ears perked up as if listening to something they couldn’t hear.

She hadn’t been human since early that morning when they’d first sighted mermaids.

“I honestly don’t know.” Snow replied with a laugh. “I think 'play’, but sushi dinner wouldn’t surprise me with the wolf thought process.”

“She’s like a cat at a fish tank.” Regina muttered, rolling her eyes.

The low growl from the wolf at that made it clear she was indeed listening.

“She still mermaid watching?” Charming asked curiously, smiling at his furry spouse.

“Always.” Snow giggled when Red’s whole body wiggled in excitement, the wolf leaning further over having spotted a mermaid again.

Emma just watched Red, “What exactly does she plan to do if she catches one?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”  
  


* * *

 

“Hey, Mom!” Emma whistled, breaking up her argument with Regina and gestured to the large wolf currently stalking the mermaid they’d captured.

No red cloak in Neverland and with the full moon high in the sky overhead Red had no choice but to go wolf.

Something that had irritated the woman to no end and resulted in no less than three attempted tackles of Regina, who seemed intent on tormenting the wolf in return.

“Red!” Snow called out in warning, nervously hurrying forward as Red inhaled deeply, lip curled back to show off her fangs.

The mermaid hissed at Red when she got too near, glowering threateningly but trapped in place.

“Red, don’t.” Snow stepped in the wolf’s path but got nudged out of the way gently by the wolf who inched forward.

“Mama or wild?” Emma asked nervously, reaching for a weapon she realized suddenly she didn’t have.

“Not sure.” Snow answered, brushing Red’s fur with her fingers, knowing well she couldn’t stop her either way.

“Little Wolf, what are you doing?” Charming called, trying to get the wolf’s attention, his hand on the hilt of his sword as he moved closer to them.

“Go away beast.” The Mermaid hissed in anger.

The wolf didn’t listen  at all and inched closer, hunkering down like she was about to pounce.

“Red!”

She didn’t attack though, to their shock she reached out one paw and poked the mermaid’s fin with it like a cat tapping the surface of a liquid.

“Mama?” Emma laughed, watching her do it again and the mermaid bat at her paw to move it.

“Oh lord.” Regina groaned and covered her eyes.

Red didn’t respond to anyway, looking curiously at the mermaid as she nudged her again.

“Beast!”

Red didn’t even seem offended, intent instead it seemed on sniffing her to figure out something her canine mind had fixated on that Emma wasn’t sure of.

“I WILL ki–” the Mermaid’s words were cut off by a tongue licking her across the side of her face, covering most of it.

Charming burst out laughing at that, dropping his hand from his sword. “Leave her alone, Little Wolf, you’re going to get hurt.”

Red made a face like she’d bit a lemon, pawing at her mouth with her paw, tongue out, nose wrinkled.

“Your wife is disgusting,” Regina told Snow pointedly.

Snow made a face and nodded in agreement.  
  


* * *

 

“I know that look,” Charming grinned, watching Red who was watching Ariel with narrowed eyes. “Just don’t lick this one.”

“I’ve never licked anyone in my whole life.” Red lied gracefully. “I don’t know who you’re thinking of, but it’s not me.”

“Didn’t she just say last week 'if I’ve licked it it’s mine’?” Snow questioned.

“I do believe that I heard that. I’ve heard it before too.” Charming agreed, arms crossed over his chest.

“Lies.” Red waved it off, “You never questioned her for me.”

Snow actually looked guilty for a moment. “I was distracted by Regina, romance and being given a tail temporarily!”

“You still promised.” Red grinned, teeth flashing. “I’m gonna talk to her.”

“If I hear the words 'spawn’ or 'taste’ pop up I am making you leave.” Snow called after Red, knowing it was futile.

“What is with her and mermaids?” Charming wrapped his arm over Snow’s shoulders. “You knew about it first.”

“I’ve been asking that question for nearly ten years and I still don’t know,” Snow sighed and shook her head, “You know she’s going to question Ariel til she’s blue in the face and everyone in the vicinity is mortified, right?”

“No doubt, but maybe she’ll get some interesting answers. If nothing else we can tease her later.”


	53. Prompt 7: Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FTL :AU

The flowers were pretty, but they weren’t the RIGHT Flowers. Emma scowled at that but picked one anyway. The real flowers she wanted that Mommy liked best were past the tree line where she wasn’t allowed to go. One accident and now she couldn’t go ANYWHERE without Mama.

As it was she could see several little birds watching her carefully.

She stuck her tongue out at them with all the anger her five year old heart could muster and went back to the flowers. They weren’t even the same shape as the little white ones that were her Mommy’s favourite.

Emma glowered down at the red flower she held anyway, it’d have to do.

She just wanted it to be WHITE.

It should be white.

She concentrated on it in her annoyance and yelped in surprise when the colour started shifting, the red turning to pink and then white in ripples spreading out from where her finger tips touched it.

She dropped it in shock and stepped back, staring down at the now white flower.

“Did… Did I do that?” She asked, looking up at the branches were some of the birds were now shifting, wings fluttering staring at her.

One took off flying towards the castle and Emma picked the flower back up. It was white now, fully and completely.

Had she done that?

Maybe the flowers themselves were magic but they hadn’t done that before.

Cautiously she picked it up again holding it by the stem.

Maybe… was it her?

She decided to test it though it made her nervous to try for some reason.

Emma thought for a few moments trying to figure out a colour that wasn’t too close to white.

Finally she settled on blue, like Daddy’s eyes.

“Blue,” She willed it quietly, fingertips touching the petals again. “Blue.”

She concentrated hard like before, repeating the word ‘blue’ under her breath repeatedly in hopes it’d help.

It started slower this time, ripples of colour spreading sluggishly across the flower slowly changing it from it’s current white state to an unnaturally bright blue.

“I did it!" She said with amazement, clutching it to her chest with a grin. She did it! She made it turn colours.

She could make flowers pretty for her Mommy and they didn’t even have to be the ones from deeper in the trees!

-

When Snow finally came to fetch her what felt like minutes later to the engrossed child she found her with a little pile of flowers in different colours spread across her lap.

“What have you been doing?” Snow asked, crouching down beside her.

“Makin’ flowers.” Emma presented her with one that was as vibrant a green as Snow’s eyes. “See?”

“I see!” Snow took it and sniffed it obediently, touching the petals with curiosity. “Where did you find this one, baby?”

“I made it!” Emma gestured to the bright red flowers she hadn’t picked.

“You made it? How did you make it?”

Emma picked another one, hiding a yawn. She felt like she’d been running all day and it wasn’t even near nap time yet! “Colour?” she asked Snow seriously.

Snow smiled indulgently but looked curious as well. “Yellow.”

“Yellow.” Emma screwed up her face in concentration, fingers on the little flower. “Yellow, yellow, yellow.”

She nearly dropped the flower at Snow’s surprised gasp but managed to make the yellow go all the way across it. “See, Mommy?” She handed Snow the flower, yawning big. “I made it!”

“I see.” Snow said, dazed at the display. After a moment she shook her head and smiled. “Why don’t we go show Mama and Daddy what you can do?”

“’m tired,” Emma held her hands up to Snow.

Snow picked her up into her arms, holding her close with the two flowers she’d handed Snow in her fingers. “Let’s go see, okay?”

“Make more flowers,” Emma laid her head down on Snow’s shoulder, cuddling into her. “LOTS.”

“We’ll see.” Snow rubbed her back lightly but sounded almost concerned like when Emma ate too much sugar and her tummy hurt, “Magic baby.’

"Magic.” Emma giggled, “’m magic!”


	54. Puppies and promises

It was a promise she’d made years and years ago to an unhappy little boy who wanted a pet of his own more than anything.

_‘You can have a puppy from the first litter born here in Storybrooke. I promise.’_

A stupid promise when she knew the world around them never changed but it had stopped the tears.

An insignificant promise that came flooding back to Regina’s mind the moment she heard Archie mention Pongo’s new found status of 'father’.

“Have they been claimed yet?” Regina asked immediately. It was a promise no matter what, she wasn’t breaking one even though more than likely Henry had long since forgotten it.

“All but the littlest one,” Archie nodded. “The female runt still doesn’t have a home yet.”

“Save her, for me.” Regina requested.

Archie’s face lit up. “Of course. Henry’s mentioned wanting one before.”

“He has?”

Archie nodded and smiled brightly, “Sometimes in sessions Pongo would stretch out and let Henry pet him, in the beginning it was something else to focus on, and Henry mentioned he wanted a puppy one day.”

Regina smiled as well. “Keep it quiet, for now please?”

“I won’t say a word.”  
  


* * *

 

“Please tell me nothing’s going wrong,” Emma pleaded when Regina showed up in the station, “I can’t take any more today.”

It took all of Regina’s will power not to laugh at the mud coated Sheriff. “Did you have a fall in the woods?”

“I got dunked off the side of a hill.” Emma corrected, easing her coat off with a curse. “And I’m thinking this is more cement than mud. So I repeat, please tell me nothing’s wrong?”

Regina smartly stepped back, away from the mud dripping from Emma’s clothing. “What would you say to me getting Henry a puppy?”

Emma looked at her curiously. “That’s your deal.”

“Yours too.” Regina sat on the edge of Charming’s desk. “I assumed you’d want some sort of say in the matter.”

It was a badly kept secret that the Savior was not too keen on canines, her Mama not included. Even Pongo was given space when he was around her, unless Emma had need of him.

Regina tried not to mock the fear, but being leery of Pongo was just entertaining.

“Keep it at your house.” Emma requested, “And I don’t care.”

“That’s it?”

“My Dad bought the kid a horse without asking.” Emma scoffed. “'Puppy’ I can deal with.”

“Fair point.”

* * *

 

The promise she’d made had been when Henry was five. When he was in tears upset wanting a puppy or a pet of his own because someone else in class had one and he couldn’t have any.

There were no puppies in the shelter, a few kittens but Henry wanted a puppy.

Something she couldn’t quite manage for him.

Nor had she relished the idea of a puppy forever stuck in potty training.

“So where are we going today?” Henry had asked when she picked him up from school for her afternoon with him when the puppies were a few weeks old.

“I thought we’d go see Pongo’s puppies.” Regina answered. “Dr. Hopper said it was okay if we stopped by.”

“Really?” Henry grinned.

“Really.”

\---

When they got there Archie led them to the back yard where a playpen was set up half open in the grass, and contained several whiny puppies with different colored ribbons around their necks.

The mother looked like Pongo and was currently lazing in the sun instead of attending to her puppies.

A neighbor dog, if she remembered correctly.

Pongo looked quite content doing the same.

“They’re tiny!” Henry said in amazement, kneeling in the grass next to the pen and peering in at the group of chubby puppies trying to get the hang of walking.

“They were much smaller when they were born,” Archie told him. “They’ve gotten rather big. You can pick them up, just be careful.”

“Which one?” Regina asked him quietly, smiling at Henry’s enthusiasm and at how carefully he lifted up one little puppy onto his lap.

“The one with a pink bow.” Archie answered just as quietly, looking almost as giddy as Henry. “He asked about them the other day.”

“And?”

“I said they’d all be claimed.

It wasn’t a lie but it was a half truth. "What did he say?”

“He was disappointed.”

Regina nodded and left Archie, kneeling in the grass with Henry, “What do you think?”

“They’re cute!” Henry grinned, showing her the puppy that was using his fingers as teething toys. “They’re tiny.”

“They are,” Regina agreed, petting the one he held before looking into the pen. The one with a pink ribbon was still the tiniest, but not as small as she’d figured for 'runt’. Quite cute with very few spots as of yet, all still a light color, no where near the dark black Pongo’s were. She lifted the little girl up carefully, holding her close.

“They’ll get big though, right?” Henry gently petted the puppy’s ears, marveling at how soft they were before placing it back in the pen and picking up a different one, determined they should all get attention.

“Yes, and active like their parents.” Regina nodded, smiling when the runt nuzzled at her palm. She stroked it’s ears like Henry had and it quickly calmed down, snuggling against her stomach happy just to be warm and have attention.

She stayed quiet for a few more minutes, letting Henry play with the others before she spoke up. “Do you want one?”

“Want one what?”

“One of Pongo’s puppies.”

His face lit up immediately before he forced it back, looking dejected. “Archie said they’re all claimed, I asked.”

“They are.” Regina acknowledged, “And this little one was claimed by me.”

She lifted the one she’d been snuggling and settled it on his currently free lap carefully.

“Really?” he asked with amazement, lifting the runt closer to him.

“Really. I promised you one from the first litter in Storybrooke, didn’t I?”

Henry surged forward, pulling her into a one armed hug to keep from squishing the puppy. “Thank you, Mom.”

“You’re welcome.” Regina replied, hugging him back. She settled back on the grass again, watching him play with the puppy he now knew was his with absolute glee. “One rule though.”

“What?” Henry asked, clearly enamored already.

“Since you live in a small apartment and I have a yard she has to stay at my house.” Regina told him, omitting a few reasons.

“Plus Emma’s scared of dogs,” Henry nodded then winced. “I mean she dislikes them.” He corrected himself quickly.

Regina just laughed, “Yes, and that. Is that okay?”

“It’s great,” Henry grinned. “She can keep watch over you on the days I’m not there.”

“Hey, she’s not a watch dog.”

“Yet.”

Regina rolled her eyes, “She still has a few more weeks with her mom before we can take her home so that gives us time to get some things for her, to puppy proof the house and time for you to get dog training books.”

“You have to rent them for me.” Henry told her, not even looking away from the puppy that was sucking on his fingers now. “Belle won’t rent me any canine books.”

“Should I ask why?”

“Gran has a thing against the Dog Whisperer and kind of ate a book. Well, she says she didn’t, but Belle thinks she did and Grams is staying out of it.”

Regina covered her eyes, trying not to laugh, “I’ll rent any books you need.”

* * *

 

“Guess what!”

“What?” Snow barely had time to ask before she was being tackled into a hug that nearly knocked her off her feet.

“I’m getting a puppy!” Henry nearly yelled in excitement.

“A what? You’re getting a puppy?” She looked over his head to Regina for clarification.

Apparently Emma hadn’t shared that information, strange. “One of Pongo’s. It’s to stay at my home but it’s his puppy,” Regina offered.

“I see.” Snow smiled, “How cool is that?”

“It’s awesome!” Henry nearly bounced in place, “Where’s Gramps?”

“Up on the roof.” Snow gestured towards the fire escape. “He’s trying to figure out how to fit a grill or at least some garden things up there.”

“I’m gonna go tell him!”

“Careful!” Snow and Regina both yelled as he climbed out onto the balcony and hurried up the stairs.

“A puppy?” Snow asked Regina seriously.

“Charming bought him a horse.” Regina defended herself.

“True.” Snow tucked her hands in her pockets. “His own puppy? Aren’t they dangerous, with teeth?”

“Don’t start,” Regina rolled her eyes. “When you were his age you were playing with polar bear cubs.”

Snow blushed. “I distinctly remember you being anxious about that too.”

“Hmm, puppy or bear cub,” Regina shook her head. She softened after a moment, “I promised he could have one when he was little. I just now was able to fill that promise.”

Snow smiled, “Then I’m glad. Just please keep it away from Emma?”

“She already knows,” Regina brushed it off. After a moment a thought occurred, “Why is your husband figuring out gardening space on a roof?”

“Container gardens,” Snow answered cheerfully. “He’s determined to have something green and thinks that’ll work. Come see? You can join us for dinner if you’d like.”

Dining with the not-quite-enemy-anymore, hmm.

“Why not?” Regina set her jacket down on the back of one of their chairs, “I’ll get to tease Red in person about puppies.”


End file.
